Battling The Enemy Within My Version
by AshKetchumForever
Summary: Ash, Brock, Dawn, and Pikachu are making their way through Sinnoh when they meet up with an old friend that they wish that they never met. This old friend causes so much trouble that they are ready to try to take over the world, but who is it?
1. Prologue

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

When Ash went for his 7th Battle Frontier symbol, it took him 3 tries to win it including being possessed by the King of Pokelantis the very first time that he challenged Brandon, the Battle Pyramid King to a battle. After that, Ash and Brock said good-bye to May and Max, who were going to Johto for May to compete in the Johto Grand Festival, and they continued on their way to their hometowns of Pewter City and Pallet Town. After leaving Kanto separately, they met up again trying to find Pikachu after Team Rocket took it away from Ash. Now, they are in Sinnoh, where they meet a girl named Dawn, who wants to be a top coordinator just like her mom, and they are now making their way onto Solaceon Town for Dawn's second ribbon and Veilstone City for Ash's third badge. On this journey, they are going to have a big change in their fate, especially Ash. They are going to be visited by an old friend that Ash and Brock wished that they didn't know at all.


	2. The Return Of The Champion!

**Chapter 2: The Return Of The Champion!**

On their way to Veilstone City for Ash's third badge and to Solaceon Town for Dawn's second ribbon, they run into their old friend, Cynthia, the Sinnoh League Champion on the trail that they were walking on. Lucky, for them that it wasn't surrounded by trees or they would have thought that she was someone else.

"Hey Cynthia, what are you doing here?" asked Ash as soon as he saw who it was and trying to catch up to her.

"I'm here to research about the Unown and its connection to the legendary pokemon, Dialga and Palkia. What are you doing here as well?" asked Cynthia as she stopped to wait for the other to catch up to her.

"Well, we're on our way to Veilstone City for my next gym battle." answered Ash as they stopped to talk to her a while on the trail.

"And I'm going to compete in a pokemon contest in Solaceon Town." answered Dawn as well as she was next to Ash on his right.

"Oh my Cynthia, you and I are going to research all over Sinn-OH!!!" said Brock as Croagunk gave him a Poison Jab as he was on Ash's left. Ash and Dawn just looked at each other and rolled their eyes as they remembered how Brock was with all of the beautiful women that he met.

"Right now, I'm on my way to both Veilstone and Solaceon as well, to find out more about the Unown." said Cynthia as she was thinking about what a coincidence it was to run into them.

After noticing that she was about to go, Ash had an idea which was quite a shocker as his ideas didn't work for most of the time.

"Why don't you come along with us, Cynthia?" asked Ash as he stopped her from taking a step away from them.

"Do you mind if I stop along the way in certain cities and towns for my research?" asked Cynthia as she brought her foot back from the step that she took.

"As long as I'm with you, Cynthia, I'll always stop to do research with YOU!!!!!" Brock added as Croagunk got him again. Apparently, Croagunk didn't trust Brock whether or not he was flirting with her.

"I think you went a little too far with that, Croagunk." said Dawn as she was watching it start to pull Brock away.

While everyone laughed at the poor man's misfortune as he was being drugged away by Croagunk, they didn't realize that Team Rocket wasn't around so let's see what their up to.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"I can't believe that League Champion joined up with the twerps again, but this time, she'll be with them all the time now instead of running into them, helping them out and leaving like before." said Jessie in disbelief as they were watching this from a close by bush.

"I know it's hard for it to sink in and everything, but let's just face it you two, we can steal her pokemon as well as Pikachu." said Meowth as it was snapping Jessie out of it and telling them that they have more valuable pokemon to steal.

"You're right, Meowth. We can hit two trainers with one pokeball by snatching both the twerp's pokemon and the Champion's pokemon at once, but where are they going now?" asked James as he didn't know where they were going.

"I know! They're going to Solaceon Town for a pokemon contest for the twerpette to compete in so let's go there and wait for them." said Jessie as she was already leaving them behind because she wanted to get going to Solaceon and arrive there before the twerps do.

"Hey! Wait up for us!" said James and Meowth in unison as they were trying to catch up to Jessie, who was way a head of them.

_(Back With The Gang)_

"Is everybody ready?" asked Brock as he was trying to get over Croagunk hitting him twice.

"Yeah!" said the two girls in unison as they were ready to get to Solaceon Town.

"Ash, is everything ok?" asked Dawn as she noticed that Ash wasn't paying attention because he heard something close by.

"Huh? Oh yeah. I thought that I heard something that's all." answered Ash as he was pulled back by Dawn into reality from where the sound came from.

"Then let's go!" said Brock leading the way as they continued on the trail again.

And with that, our heroes, now including Cynthia, continue on their way to Veilstone City and Solaceon Town.

* * *

Still on their way to Veilstone and Solaceon, our heroes, now including Cynthia, continue on their way until they run into a person Ash never wanted as a rival, Paul in an area with trees surrounding the trail.

"Well, if it isn't the 'Pathetic Squad' and Cynthia, what are you doing them?" asked Paul in his usual non-friendly tone when he saw them again.

"Come of it, Paul! You're just mad because she wanted to travel with us instead of you." replied Ash starting to get angry about what Paul just said.

"Why you little…" started Paul, but Cynthia stopped him short before he said anything that he would regret saying it at all.

"Stop it, you two. Paul, I'm traveling with them because they were going the same way that I was, that's all." answered Cynthia trying to calm both Ash and Paul down at the same time and it worked.

"Paul, I challenge you to a one-on-one match. My Pikachu against your Electabuzz. What do you say?" asked Ash in a challenging voice as he was trying to see if Paul has gotten stronger since their last meeting.

"I accept your challenge, Ash, but you'll regret challenging me to a battle." answered Paul as he was walking toward a little area that looked just fine for a battle.

"I'll be the referee." said Brock as he was taking his position on the sidelines near the battlefield in the little area.

Both trainers took their positions on each side of the battlefield, which was just a field that was by the trail that Ash and friends were traveling on. They got into their battle positions with Ash taking his usual stance along with Paul. Brock stood in between Ash, who was on his right, and Paul, who was on his left, on the sidelines as he was hoping that it wouldn't be that bad of a battle between them like usual.

"This match between Ash and Paul is about to begin. Trainers ready?" asked Brock.

"Yeah!" answered Ash and Paul in unison.

"Then let the match begin!"

"Go Pikachu!"

"Electabuzz, Stand By! You can have the first move." said Paul.

The first couple of attacks clashed together, nobody giving in until, HE showed up again. In the middle of the battle, Ash was possessed, for the rest of the match, by the King of Pokelantis.

Dawn, Cynthia, and Paul didn't know what was happening to Ash, but poor Brock knew what was happening.

"Not the King of Pokelantis again." said Brock to himself. The way that Brock knew what was happening was that Ash slumped over for about a few seconds before he stood back up with an evil grin wide on his face unlike usual. He could also feel the aura that was being emitted from Ash's body and he knew that it was evil by the way that it felt on his skin.

"Pikachu, finish it! Volt Tackle full power!" The King, for short, commanded.

Paul didn't command Electabuzz to dodge because he was too afraid of what Ash was making Pikachu do. Anyone who looked at Paul could tell that he was terrified by the King and he could feel how powerful the aura was in the air and on his skin.

Electabuzz was knocked out on the spot once it was hit in the stomach.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle. Pikachu is the winner!" said Brock still in shock of what just happened in the battle.

"WHAT?! How could that happen?!" exclaimed Paul in shock as he quickly swapped the look of terrified to a look of confusion and shock. He couldn't say anything else because he always thought that Ash was a weakling that could never pass him.

"Ha Ha Ha! Nice try, pathetic loser. I like to stay around, but I have to go. See ya soon, losers!" said the King before he left Ash's body. Everybody could feel the aura go back into Ash's body before he fell onto the ground on his stomach. Ash was knocked unconscious when the King left him as he wasn't expecting that to happen after what happened back at the Battle Pyramid with Brandon.

"Ash? Ash! Wake up, please wake up!" yelled Dawn as Paul was leaving, still in shock of Ash beating him for the first time ever.

Brock went over to check on him and found out that he was ok.

"He's ok, but I'm starting to worry about him." said Brock as he was examining Ash from head to toe.

"Brock, what was that all about with Ash?" asked Dawn looking at him with a confused look on her face. Her look gave out an expression that said 'What the heck is going on around here?'

"I'll explain later on." said Brock as he was getting up from kneeling by Ash.

While everyone is still shocked at what happened in the battle, let's see where Team Rocket is.

_(Somewhere Along The Road To Solaceon Town)_

"Are we there yet?" asked James and Meowth in unison as they were lagging behind Jessie.

"No! And quit complaining, you two slackers. You two are the reason why we never get Pikachu so let's keep going." said Jessie in an annoyed tone as she kept on walking.

"Ok, Jessie. Hey! Wait a minute! We're not slackers!" said the two in unison as they stopped for a minute when they heard that last part.

"Then what are you?" asked Jessie as she was still walking with her back turn to them.

"We're your servants." replied the two in unison sadly as they started to follow her again.

"That's what I thought you were." said Jessie in a nonchalant tone as she was still walking a little farther from them.

_(Back With The Gang)_

"Are you sure that he's alright because he's been knocked out for awhile now?" asked Cynthia as she was concerned about Ash and looking in his direction as he laid on the ground still.

He was still lying on the ground, but now he is lying on his back after Brock rolled him over while he was checking him out.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure he's fine. Why don't we set up camp for the night so that he can rest a little bit easier?" asked Brock as he was trying to reassure both of them, but he wasn't completely sure about that.

"After what happened today, I think that sounds like a good idea to me." answered Dawn as she was starting to perk up a bit. She had been down ever since Ash hit the ground after the King left his body to go back to wherever he came from.

And with the King of Pokelantis making his first appearance since the Battle Pyramid, our heroes have someone else to worry about more than Paul, someone more evil to deal with on their journey.

* * *

After the battle between them and Paul leaving feeling very dejected after the battle and a good night's sleep, they discover that they're only a day's walk to Solaceon Town. They stopped in a little area that was open with trees surrounding it except for a little area where they could still see the trail.

"We're so close to Solaceon Town, I can already taste that second ribbon!" exclaimed Dawn excitedly as she was trying to forget about what happened yesterday with Ash.

"Is she always like this before a pokemon contest?" asked Cynthia as she was also trying to forget about yesterday and wondering if Dawn was like this all of the time.

"It's her way of being psyched." explained Brock as he was thinking about dawn was always like before a contest and trying to forget yesterday too.

Just when Brock finished explaining Dawn's way of being psyched to Cynthia, Ash's way of being psyched could never be explained to anybody because he was training up a storm like always.

Ash was busy training Buizel and Chimchar with Turtwig and Staravia to get ready for the gym battle in Veilstone. He was acting as if nothing happened yesterday with the King taking over or that he was unconscious afterwards.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet, Chimchar, Flamethrower, Turtwig, Razor Leaf, and Staravia, Aerial Ace!" commanded Ash, leaving Pikachu on the sidelines because of the battle yesterday. He decided that if he was going to train today, he would leave Pikachu out because it needed a rest from battling so hard in yesterday's battle with Paul.

"Hey Ash, maybe you could settle down on the training for a little while?" asked Brock as he was worried about Ash's health.

"Why should I, Brock? I'm at the top of my game." asked Ash as he was curious to why Brock wanted him to settle down with his training. He still had no idea about the King taking over during the battle, but he was going to find out soon enough.

"Because of what happened yesterday in your battle with Paul." answered Brock as he was hoping that Ash remembered about the King taking over during the match.

"What are you talking about, Brock?" asked Ash as he was stepping away from his training for awhile as he was slashing Brock's hope about the King.

"Don't you remember the King of Pokelantis possessing you during the battle with Paul?" asked Brock as he was curious to why Ash would have amnesia about the King showing up yesterday.

"No. The only battle that I can remember was back at the Battle Pyramid with Brandon." answered Ash as he had no idea about the King taking over yesterday.

"Alright! Tell us the truth guys! Who's this 'King of Pokelantis' anyway?" asked Dawn and Cynthia in unison. They finally couldn't take it anymore and they wanted to find out who this 'King of Pokelantis' so that they would know what happened about yesterday.

"Well, I guess we can go ahead and tell you guys what happened." answered Brock as he was asking Ash and he just shook his head 'Yes' as he was uncertain about telling them about the King and how stupid he was to release the King into his body. "Well, it happened like this…"

_(Flashback) In case you didn't notice._

They were at the Battle Pyramid, which was just outside of Pewter City, when they fell down into the Pokelantis Ruins and found a stone statue of Pikachu, which Ash picked up and before long they were being chased by a giant boulder, just like in the Indiana Jones movies. They met Brandon, the Pyramid King, who told them about the King of Pokelantis and stopped the giant boulder from crushing them, who 'supposedly' captured a Ho-Oh in a Stone Pokeball and Ash ran to find it and found the King's chambers where both he and Pikachu fell into the chamber and on the King's thrown, was the Stone Pokeball, but instead of Ho-Oh being inside of it, he found the King of Pokelantis' evil spirit inside it and possessed Ash for the first battle with Brandon and lost miserably after Brandon' Regirock beat Ash's Sceptile. After that, Ash regained control long enough to tell Pikachu to use Thunderbolt on him and that expelled the King's spirit from Ash's body and Brandon said the spell that put the King back into the Stone Pokeball and Ash had to battle Brandon two more times after that on his own.

_(End Flashback)_

"And we thought we were done with him until the King showed up yesterday with Paul." finished Brock as he was happy that they knew about the King better than before.

"Wow! I never heard that story before, Brock." complemented Dawn. She was thankful that she never heard about the King of Pokelantis before, but now she was starting to have second thoughts about the truth about him, but she decided that it probably wouldn't be that bad so she just accepted it.

"I heard about him when I was traveling to be stronger, but I never believed it until yesterday, guys." said Cynthia as she remembered about being in Kanto and looking inside of the ruins before the Battle Pyramid was there.

And with Brock explaining what happened to Ash the day before, our heroes are about to enter Solaceon Town after a good night's sleep and a miles walk in the morning.

* * *

**Here's the new and improved Chapter 2! I combined Chapters 2, 3, and 4 into one chapter so I hope that you like it. Thanks, MediaMessiah for helping me out!**


	3. Solaceon Town: Finally!

**Chapter 3: Solaceon Town: Finally!**

As our heroes enter Solaceon Town, they stop at the Solaceon Ruins for Cynthia's research.

When they reach the ruins, which were a tall building with lots of stairs, they meet up with Dawn's old friend and rival, Kenny, who is also from Twinleaf.

"Hello Dee Dee." said Kenny as he was trying to tease Dawn.

"Stop calling me 'Dee Dee', the name's Dawn!" exclaimed Dawn angrily as she hated the nickname.

"Who's you friend, Dawn?" asked Cynthia as she was starting to wonder what's going on with Dawn.

"Cynthia, I'd like you to meet Kenny. He's an old friend that started his journey before I did." explained Dawn after calming down, but she knew that Kenny was going to get it in the contest for calling her that.

"And this is Cynthia, the Sinnoh League Champion." introduced Ash as he looked to his right.

"What are you doing here in Solaceon Town, Cynthia?" asked Kenny as he always thought that the Champion was supposed to stay with the Elite Four and all.

"I'm here for some research. Do you know a way into the buildings, Kenny?" asked Cynthia curiously and explaining that she had better things to do than sit with the Elite Four or train all of the time.

"I sure do. It's right over here. Follow me everyone." replied Kenny as he was leading the way into the ruins and up the stairs to the opening.

They entered the ruins in a matter of minutes, which was enormous compared to what it was on the outside.

They made their way into the middle of the ruins and Cynthia started on her research on the Unown while the others just talked and caught up with each other.

What they don't know is that Team Rocket is planning to get Pikachu once again before the contest tomorrow.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"I got an idea! Why don't we go crashing through the roof of the ruins and capture Pikachu that way." said Jessie as she had an idea for once.

"Ok. But we don't have a mecha machine, Jessie." said James as he was trying to make a point wit her and Meowth, but he didn't succeed.

"Leave all dat to me." said Meowth proudly as it put a paw onto its chest.

_(Back With Our Heroes)_

Cynthia had just finished her research when all of a sudden, Team Rocket burst through the roof with a mecha…Pikachu?! Go figure! Who knew that Team Rocket was that pathetic and would stoop that low to get Pikachu that bad? I guess that they would since they're so desperate anymore.

"It's Pikachu stealing time!" yelled Team Rocket in unison as they threw an electric proof net over Pikachu, who was struggling to get free and tried to shock it as usual, but of course, it didn't work.

They were laughing as they were the Pikachu's net as they thought that they had finally won. Like that was truly going to happen.

"Hey! Give me back Pikachu, Team Rocket!" yelled Ash as he looked up at them as they were standing on top of the mecha Pikachu's head.

"Come and get us, twerps!" yelled Meowth back as he stuck his tongue out at him.

"Alright then. Go Turtwig!" said Ash as he finally had enough of them.

"Go Aipom!" said Dawn as she was joining in on the action because she wanted to show Kenny how strong she had become since their last meeting.

"Go Seviper!" "Go Carnivine!" said Jessie and James in unison as they were releasing Seviper and Carnivine. They actually did this with hope because they thought that they were going to win.

Carnivine bit James' head as usual before it got into the battle.

"Carnivine, get them not me!" said James as he was struggling to get it off of his head wile Jessie and Meowth looked at him with heads and thought that he wasn't really going to help them win with Carnivine.

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!" commanded Ash as he wanted to get back at them even with Carnivine's distraction making them not notice what he was planning on doing.

"Aipom, Swift!" commanded Dawn as she was following him.

"Seviper, Bite!" "Carnivine, Bite as well!" commanded Team Rocket as they saw what Ash and Dawn were doing, but they didn't in time.

Turtwig and Aipom knocked those two out in a blink of an eye and sent those two flying back into Jessie and James' faces, knocking them flat on their backs.

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf on the net!" said Ash as he noticed that they were having a hard time getting up.

Turtwig did what Ash told it to and freed Pikachu from the net. Pikachu fell from the net and Ash caught it before it hit the ground. They hugged quickly before he noticed that they were standing back up and looking like they were going to come down after him, but they didn't since they were busy putting Seviper and Carnivine into their pokeballs.

"Ok, Pikachu, time to use Thunderbolt." said Ash as he looked at Pikachu in his arms before it jumped out of them and released a Thunderbolt onto Team Rocket.

Pikachu shocked Team Rocket right into the sky saying the usual: 'Team Rocket's blasting off again!!!' and ending with a 'ding' to finish off their flight.

When Team Rocket was gone, the gang ran into one of the Unown, which was floating by right in front of them not really noticing that they were there or not, after Dawn recalled Aipom to its pokeball. Once it caught them out of the corner of its eye, it started to run or fly away (which ever!) from them.

They tried to go after it, but Unown led them out of the ruins buildings where it disappeared into the forest and it waited until they couldn't see it anymore to go back inside before they realized that it was going back in.

After arriving outside, they noticed that it was already night time, with the night sky full of stars and the moon starting to show, and that they had lost Unown while they were coming out of the ruins.

"Let's go to the Pokemon Center to get our pokemon taken care of for tomorrow's contest and we can stay there for the night." said Dawn as she was starting to get tired because of all of the events that happened that day.

"OK!" replied the group in unison as they were also tired too. They headed toward the Pokemon Center which was only a couple of minutes walk from the ruins.

Our heroes had a crazy Team Rocket crisis in the ruins, but now Dawn and Kenny have their pokemon contest the next day to prepare for what pokemon they're going to use for the appeal and the battle rounds.

While they're sleeping, something's happening at the ruins that will shock them later.

_(Back At The Ruins)_

"Yes! We finally got what we needed from here. Let's move out!" said a voice from inside the ruins as they grabbed something from inside of it.

"Yes sir!" said a pair of voices in unison as they were following the voice that just spoke.

Who are they and what do they want? Find Out Soon!

* * *

After yesterday's adventure at the Solaceon Ruins, Dawn's getting ready for the contest that afternoon with some practice battling with Ash's Buizel using Aipom on the battlefield by the Pokemon Center.

"Aipom, Focus Punch!" commanded Dawn.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!" commanded Ash.

They collided in mid-air and when they landed, Aipom started to glow a bright white color and it was starting to get bigger too.

"What's happening?" asked Dawn as she was uncertain about what was going on with Aipom.

"It's starting to evolve." replied Ash as he knew what was going on because he has seen it happen to his pokemon a lot.

When it got done evolving, it was an Ambipom. It looked like a bigger version of Aipom, but it had two tails instead of one and a little different look to it.

"Wow! It evolved into an Ambipom. That's so cool!" exclaimed Dawn as she was starting to jump up and down with joy.

"Congratulations Dawn! You earned it." said Ash as she was trying to get her to calm down a little bit and make sure she stayed focused on the battle at hand.

"Hey Dawn! Why don't you give 'Double Hit' a try? It's an awesome move to use for contests." suggested Cynthia as she was also trying to get Dawn to calm down a little bit so that she could try the new move.

"Ok, Cynthia. Ambipom, use Double Hit!" commanded Dawn excitedly.

"Buizel, Sonic Boom!" commanded Ash.

The Double Hit knocked the Sonic Boom down and knocked Buizel out as well. Well, I guess that the Double Hit is a Double Success for Ambipom. Bad joke or not, that's what I think and I'll leave it at that.

"Buizel! Good job, Buizel. Return!" said Ash as he was returning Buizel to its pokeball as he was starting to walk over to Dawn, Brock, and Cynthia with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"So Dawn, what pokemon are you going to use in the appeal and battle stages?" asked Brock as soon as Ash was over by them.

"Probably Ambipom for the 1st stage and Piplup for the 2nd stage." answered Dawn as she was thinking about what kind of performance Ambipom would give her.

"Then let's get going because the contest is going to start in 30 minutes." said Brock as he was looking the Pokemon Center's window to look at the clock.

"Aaaahhh!" screamed Dawn in shock as she wasn't expecting to go this long with the training.

_(Solaceon Town Contest Hall)_

After 30 minutes had past, the Solaceon Contest started to get underway in the Solaceon Contest Hall, which was like a stadium, but it wasn't even close since it had high ceilings and it was enclosed too.

Dawn, who was dressed in her pink dress like usual and ponytail, was the fifth coordinator to go followed by Kenny in eighth and a disguised Jessie as Jessilina was ninth. There were a lot of great looking performances and all three of them knew that it was going to be a tough competition.

Let's see what Dawn's appeal performance was like and how it was different form the rest of the competition.

_(Dawn's Appeal Performance)_

Dawn started out like this for the Appeal stage: "Ambipom, Spotlight!"

Ambipom came out and landed perfectly as it was ready to give everyone a performance of a life time.

"Ambipom, Swift followed by Focus Punch!"

Ambipom used Swift to create a circle and knocked it down with Focus Punch beautifully. The stage was sparkling from the Swift-Focus Punch combination which made Ambipom look more beautiful than it already was.

"Now Ambipom, Double Team and follow it up with Double Hit!"

Ambipom did it perfectly and it did a heart, with its tail, around Dawn to end their beautiful performance together. They were one of the one's to beat in the competition because of that performance.

_(Kenny's Appeal Performance)_

Kenny's performance with his new pokemon, Breloom, was great and almost matched Dawn and Ambipom's performance too.

He started out by having Breloom use Stun Spore to make the stage sparkle with the orange color of it instead of rainbow colors and followed it up with it using a powerful Energy Ball to shoot into the air above Breloom and destroyed it by using Mach Punch in a single second.

But overall, it was better than Jessilina's performance with Dustox which was a little more than desired by the judges.

_(Jessilina's Appeal Performance)_

Jessilina had Dustox fly her around the stage by having it use Gust. She went up and down in mid-air a lot and she looked like she was having fun, but it also made everyone freak out a little too.

Her performance was very 'different' if that's what you would call that with Dustox. Poor Dustox for having to do it and to have Jessie/Jessilina as its trainer.

_(The Coordinator Waiting Area)_

While the judges selected the coordinators who are moving onto round 2, Ash and Brock, who were standing up, were telling Dawn, who was sitting down on a bench, how her performance looked great with Ambipom. They told her that Ambipom looked better now than when it was an Aipom doing all of those moves.

After the guys were done, Cynthia, who was sitting next to Dawn on the bench, was helping Dawn by telling her some techniques that Dawn could try with PIplup for the 2nd round. Dawn was grateful as she told her all of those possibilities that she could have with Piplup with the battles.

"And now it's time to announce the eight coordinators going on are…" said Marian, the emcee, excitedly as she pointed toward the big screen monitor above her on the stage.

Will Dawn, Kenny, and Jessilina move onto the 2nd round or will Dawn be eliminated in the 1st round just like at the Hearthome Contest?

* * *

"And here are the eight coordinators moving on!" said Marian as she was pointing to the big screen monitor.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats as they were impatient to see if the coordinator that they were rooting for was going to make it or not.

When the results came up on the screen, Dawn was second in the appeal round while Kenny was third and Jessilina was the last coordinator to make the cut which was very surprising for everyone.

"I can't believe that I'm in. That's such a relief!" said Dawn as she was letting out a sigh of relief which the others didn't know that she was holding in.

"You did a great job, Dee Dee." commented Kenny as he walked over to her to tease her a little bit, hoping to throw her off of her game.

"Stop calling me that!" exclaimed Dawn as she stood up and looked him straight in the eye with an expression that said 'Say that nickname again and you WILL DIE!'

"We'll be rooting for the both of us so give it your all." said Ash as he was leaving the waiting area with Brock and Cynthia to get back to their seats and trying to break up the tension between Dawn and Kenny before their battles.

"Now we'll do a random shuffle to see who's battling who!" said Marian excitedly as she pointed to the screen again.

Dawn was in the first battle, Kenny was in the second, and Jessilina was in the third. They were happy about that because if Dawn met up with Kenny before the finals, she was going to cream him because of always call her by her nickname.

Dawn won her first battle easily with PIplup, Kenny had a little hard time winning with Prinplup, and Jessilina won the third with Dustox based on how many points were left after the clock stopped. Jessilina wished that she had won by knocking out her opponent, but she wasn't going to complain because she was in the semi-finals, but she was hoping to not go up against any of the twerp group, btu she wasn't always that lucky.

Dawn was going up against Jessilina in the semi-finals. Jessilina wasn't that happy about it, but she took as best as she could without anyone noticing that she didn't want to go up against Dawn.

_(Dawn's Semi-Final Battle)_

"Piplup, Whirlpool followed by Bide!"

"Dustox, Gust followed by Tackle!"

Piplup's attacks hit before Dustox's attacks could reach Piplup. Lucky for Dawn, the battle wasn't that long and she could see that Jessilina was hoping to end it as soon as she could with Dustox.

PIplup knocked Dustox out with plenty of time left on the clock and so that means that Dawn enters the finals for the first time since the Floroma Contest. Jessilina just lowered her head and walked off of the stage which surprised James and Meowth.

Kenny also won and that means that Dawn and Kenny are in the finals once again. She was happy about this because she was going to get him yet for calling her by her nickname all of the time.

_(The Final Battle Of The Solaceon Contest)_

"Now it's time for the finals! It's Dawn on my left versus Kenny on my right. 5 minute on the clock and begin!" announced Marian as she was looking between Dawn and Kenny before giving the signal to start.

"Piplup, Spotlight!"

"Prinplup, Let's Go!"

"Piplup, Bubblebeam!"

"Prinplup, Metal Claw!"

The attacks smashed into each other in the middle of the stage, but they caused very little damage to each other.

"Piplup, Whirlpool!"

"Prinplup, Drill Peck!"

PIplup's attack hit first, stopping the Drill Peck completely before it even got started.

"Piplup, Bubblebeam followed by Bide!" said Dawn as she was hoping to end it and beat Kenny again.

"Prinplup, Bubblebeam to counter and use Drill Peck to attack!" said Kenny as he was hoping to beat Dawn this time around and win for the first time against her.

The Bubblebeams clashed in the middle of the stage, which caused a giant smoke cloud to cover the stage, but Piplup could see what it was doing. Piplup unleashed a huge amount of energy which knocked Prinplup out during the giant smoke cloud since Prinplup couldn't see in it.

"And with only a few seconds left, Dawn wins it!" announced Marian excitedly as she pointed toward Dawn with her hand.

"Yeah! Piplup, we did it!" exclaimed Dawn as she gave Piplup a hug for a great job. She quickly got her ribbon and before long, she was out of her contest dress and into her regular clothes.

_(After The Solaceon Contest Ended)_

After Dawn got her second ribbon, Kenny's already leaving to find another contest to enter and hopefully, win it unlike this time around.

"I'll be seeing you, Dee Dee, and great job in the contest, but next time, I'll beat you." said Kenny as he had his bag over his shoulder and leaving at the same time.

"Bye and stop calling me 'Dee Dee'!" yelled Dawn after Kenny to try to stop him from call her that all of the time.

"Now from here, it's Veilstone City for Ash's gym battle." said Brock as he was looking at Ash after they waved good-bye to Kenny.

"Yeah. I can feel a big win coming on too." said Ash excitedly as he was thinking about the gym battle.

After Dawn won her second ribbon, our heroes now continue on their way to Veilstone City.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed that more than you did reading all three of them in different chapters like I had before.**


	4. The King Returns In Ash

**Chapter 4: The King Returns In Ash's Dreams!**

After leaving Solaceon a few days ago, our heroes stop for the night along the way in a place that was surrounded by trees.

Dawn was having a sweet dream about becoming a top coordinator like her mom and how she would enjoy her life when she was a top coordinator.

Brock was having a completely different dream from the others. He was dreaming of becoming a top Pokemon Breeder with girls all around him like usual and they weren't bothered or disgusted by him either. Plus, Croagunk wasn't there to bother him at all.

Cynthia was dreaming about the Unown, Dialga, and Palkia and what they did to make the world like it was.

So, everyone was having a good dream of their own, well, almost everyone.

_(Ash's Dream)_

Ash was dreaming about becoming the Sinnoh League Champion on a bright and sunny day as he was standing in the stadium where it took place, when all of a sudden, it turned dark and everything was gone, even Pikachu. The only thing that he could see was floating red and black dots around him.

Ash didn't know what was happening to his wonderful dream so he was starting to panic, but he stopped himself from panicking because he knew that if he panicked at a time like this, how would he be able to become the Sinnoh League Champion and later, the greatest Pokemon Master?

"What's going on?" asked Ash to no one in particular as he was looking around.

"I'm here to take over the world." said the King, now making himself known to Ash as he stepped out of one of the black dots and walking over to Ash to stand in front of him. He looked down at Ash because he was so much taller than Ash since he was only a kid.

"I thought that Pikachu took care of you back at the Battle Pyramid?!" said Ash in a shocked and scared tone as he stepped back away from the King a few steps.

"That's what you think, loser." said the King as he was blowing Ash off without even looking at him.

"Hey! I'm not a loser, oh and the name's Ash, King!" said Ash finally losing his cool and taking those steps that he took back forward with him getting closer to the King than before.

"Ok, Ash. Let me explain to you what happened first. Your memories of me brought me back because a little bit of me was left in your mind." explained the King as he showed Ash one of his memories of him being controlled by the King.

After a few seconds of sinking that information into his brain, Ash was in shock until he forced himself to talk again. He still couldn't believe that he brought the King back with his memories of him.

"WHAT?! I thought you were put back into the Stone Pokeball back at the Battle Pyramid?!" said Ash still in shock. This time he backed away even more as he was trying to deny that he had anything to do with bringing the King back to the world.

"Yeah. Well, I don't have much time left, but before I go, I want to tell you this: every time you battle, I get stronger when I get control over your body. Ha Ha Ha!" explained the King as he was thinking about how is plan will work in his favor. He was happy that he could use Ash's body for taking over the world because he was so young and he could live forever as long as nothing happened to his body.

"Wait! What do you mean?" asked Ash as he was breaking the King's train of thought, but he recovered on a dime. He was surprised that Ash would interrupt his thinking, but he knew that Ash would eventually find out what he was planning on doing.

"You'll see in time, Ash, you'll see." said the King before disappearing into the darkness that was overflowing into Ash's mind because he was starting to wake up.

Ash wanted to yell after him, but he was being pulled back into his real body.

_(Back In The Real World)_

Ash was awakened by Dawn after saying "No!" over and over in his sleep. He actually had sweat rolling down his face as he was scared by having the King live inside him again, but he wasn't going to leave like last time.

"Ash, are you ok?" asked Dawn as she was kneeling by him on his right side. She knew something was up with Ash, but she couldn't put her finger on it at all.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Just worry about me winning my next badge." replied Ash as he was getting up. He was wiping the sweat off of his face as he did that and then, he went over to a little stream that wasn't to far away from camp and got cleaned up along with a drink of water to try to settle himself down after that terrible nightmare.

After having a weird dream with the King in it, Ash and friends continue on their way to Veilstone City, but they happen to run across Celestic Town and Cynthia asked if she could do some research there with the gang agreeing with her.

* * *

Our heroes continue on their way to Veilstone, when they stop in Celestic Town for Cynthia's research by her request of course.

Cynthia wanted to take a look at the Lustrous Orb to see if it really was connected to the Adamant Orb in the Eterna Museum or if it was connected to something else if it wasn't.

It took Cynthia and the gang a few minutes to get to the Celestic Museum, which was in the middle of the town.

"I'll meet you at the Pokemon Center after I get done with my research. OK?" asked Cynthia as she turned to face the gang before she entered the museum.

"Ok." replied the gang in unison as they were leaving Cynthia. She went inside quickly and was ready to find out the truth.

When they got to the Pokemon Center, the TV, which was in the far left-hand corner of the Pokemon Center, was announcing the location of the next pokemon contest.

"The next pokemon contest will be held at Lake Valor. We'll see all of the coordinators there. Bye!" said Marian excitedly with Mr. Contest, Mr. Sukizo, and her waving good-bye.

"Lake Valor huh? Can't wait." said Dawn as she held a fist that represented that she was ready for the contest after her victory in Solaceon as she was standing in front of the TV with Ash on her left and Brock on her right.

"So we'll go to Veilstone first and then, Lake Valor after." said Brock as he was telling them the plan because of adding Lake Valor into the mix of things unlike before when it was only Veilstone.

After Cynthia got done with her research, she helped Ash get ready for his gym battle by training with him for a little while.

What our heroes don't know is that Team Rocket's planning to capture Pikachu again even after their failed attempt last time.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"I have an idea!" said Jessie excitedly as she was happy that she had another one after her other plan had resulted in failure (again!).

"Oh no, not again." said James as he was getting tired of Jessie's ideas because they weren't that thought out and made them look stupid as they were blasted away by Pikachu.

Jessie hit him on the head with her fist and saying, "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing, Jess. Nothing at all." said James as he was recovering from the hit as he sat on his knees, trying not to make Jessie anymore mad at him.

"How about we swipe all of the twerp's pokemon? Since he's training for that gym battle in Veilstone City, right?" asked Jessie as she was trying to remember the name of the city that the gang was going to (I like to make her a little stupid every now and then so give me a break if you are a Jessie fan!).

"That's right, Jessie, but one problem: How do we do that, Jessie? We don't have a mecha machine that I know about." replied James as he was thinking about whether or not they had a back-up machine or not.

"Just leave all dat to me." said Meowth deviously as it was rubbing its paws together.

Okaay, let's check with the others. Maybe they aren't becoming evil in any way possible. Well, maybe Ash. Oops. You weren't supposed to know about that yet! (Runs and hides to make sure no one comes after them in a closet.)

_(Back With The Gang)_

Ash was battling Cynthia's Garchomp with Buizel and boy, was it an interesting training battle.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!"

"Garchomp, Giga Impact!"

The two attacks collided in mid-air, no side giving in or losing for that matter, when Team Rocket showed up and captured all of Ash's pokemon along with Garchomp in a supped-out version of their hot air balloon.

"Not Team Rocket again!" yelled Ash as they others came over to where he was standing as he was looking up at them with an angry look on his face.

"For once twerp, you're right." complemented Meowth with a huge smile on his face as it was looking down at the gang.

"Give us our pokemon back, Team Rocket!" yelled Cynthia, who was extremely mad about them taking Garchomp like that, as she was getting into the action.

"Sorry, but we have to run. See ya!" said Team Rocket as they were leaving without looking back at them.

"Grrr!" growled Ash. He was getting really mad, not just really, but extremely mad at them for doing that to them. He was looking down as he did that because he could feel a presence get ready to take over him.

"Ash, are you ok?" asked Dawn as they were all looking at how Ash was like after Team Rocket took their pokemon.

"They make me so mad! Team Rocket, you're not going to get away with this!" yelled out Ash with a little bit of a demonic tone with that last part of the sentence, which scared the others because they didn't think that Ash could do that kind of a voice in their entire time that they've known him and then, they figured out what happened to him. He was having the King of Pokelantis take over him without him even knowing it at all.

Within a minute, Ash was possessed by the King of Pokelantis again, which the others didn't like at all for that matter because they wanted Ash here to stop Team Rocket by himself like normal. Not with the King of Pokelantis taking his place in his body.

"You, the girl with blue hair, let out one of your pokemon so that I can get the other pokemon back." said the King as he was looking to his right to where Dawn was standing with Cynthia by her.

"Ok. Ambipom, come on out!" said Dawn as she was afraid of what he was going to do to her if she didn't do what he said, which the others didn't blame her either if they were put into the same situation.

"Ambipom, Swift!" commanded the King as he was hacking into Ash's memory again about Ambipom when it was just an Aipom before.

Ambipom used Swift to free the pokemon from the net, who landed without a problem and went back to their trainers happily. Well, except Pikachu as it knew that the King was back in control of Ash's body.

"WHAT?! I thought that you reinforced it, Meowth!" yelled Jessie as she was looking at Meowth, who was on her right as it was in between her and James.

"I did on the inside, but not the outside." explained Meowth as it was scared of what she could do to it for this little slip up.

"Ok, Pikachu, maximum Thunderbolt!" commanded the King before he left Ash's body, which he liked a lot because it reminded him of what he was like when he was a kid before becoming the King of Pokelantis.

Team Rocket said their usual during a blast-off: "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" with the usual 'ding' at the end of it.

Ash fell to the ground as he was knocked unconscious after their little fight with Team Rocket. The King was happy about coming back into the world for a little while even if it meant leaving Ash unconscious for a little while too. Ash was picked up by Brock and he took Ash into their room inside of the Pokemon Center to rest for the night since he had to deal with the King again.

After the King makes another appearance, our heroes stay in Celestic Town for the night and in the morning, continue on their way to Veilstone and Lake Valor without any problems.

* * *

Only a day and half's walk to Veilstone City, our heroes stop for a break and lunch in a little area that wasn't surrounded by trees.

"Hey, Ash, I've been wondering." said Dawn as she was looking down at her food. She was trying to find the courage to ask him ever since he woke up this morning, but she couldn't find it in her to ask him until now.

"Yeah, Dawn. What have you been wondering about?" asked Ash as he was looking at her after he had just finished eating.

"About why you're unconscious after the King of Pokelantis leaves your body." replied Dawn as she was looking at him now with a worried look on her face. She was extremely worried about him ever since the King appeared the battle Paul and I wouldn't blame her.

"Well, it was different before." said Ash as he was looking down as his empty plate and he closed his eyes as he remembered what happened.

"What do you mean?" asked Dawn curiously as her face went from a worried look to one of confusion. Cynthia was starting to get interested in this as she was about to here Ash's side of the story with the King.

"Well, I guess I can go ahead and tell you two, right Brock?" asked Ash as he was looking at Brock, hoping not to tell them. He was thinking that if he told them about he King, the King would go after them and try to hurt them when he was in control of Ash's body.

"They need to know sooner or later, Ash." replied Brock as he was slashing Ash's hope of not telling them. Ash just sighed before he started since he knew something bad might happen to them by the King of course.

"Ok. Well, before when the King possessed me the first time, Brandon challenged him to a battle in hope to bring me back. He was battling really badly and I was about to stop him from doing anything worse with any of my pokemon. I took control for a little while when Brandon called me a "coward" to snap me back to reality, but the King came back when he knew that I had let my guard down. After that, the King tapped into my knowledge of Sceptile, who's back with Professor Oak now, and all its attacks that it knows. He lost the match when Brandon told Regirock to use Hyper Beam after Lock-On on Sceptile. He tried to get Pikachu to fight, but Pikachu refused because it was use to my voice. Like Brock said before, I took control long enough to tell Pikachu to use Thunderbolt to expel him out of my body and I thought we were done with him, but wrong answer! I can't believe what he wants to do." explained Ash as he put his head in his hands as he felt like everything was his fault from the beginning.

"What do you mean 'what he wants to do'?" asked Dawn in excitement. She was enjoying Ash's part about what happened to him when he was first possessed by the King.

"I had a dream two nights ago where the King made me believe that he had possessed me during the battle with Paul. He told me that every time he possesses me, he gets stronger and stronger so that he can take over the world. Then I said: 'Wait, what do you mean?' and he said: 'You'll see in time, Ash.' Then yesterday happened and I knew what he meant." said Ash as he raised his head from his hands and opened his eyes and looked at the others with a sad expression on his face.

"Well, what do you mean 'you knew what he meant', Ash?" asked Cynthia curiously as she was intrigued by Ash's story about his nightmare the other night.

"As of yesterday, I figured out what he was talking about. He was talking about taking over my body the next day. How could I not see that coming!" said Ash as he was starting to get mad for not predicting what the King had in mind during the nightmare.

"That's ok, Ash. You didn't know." said Cynthia sympathetically as she put a hand on his left shoulder.

"We'll try to help you with all that we can." said Brock as he did the same, but he put his hand on Ash's right shoulder.

"Take it easy, Ash. We don't want the King to take over the world just yet." said Dawn as she was trying to cheer him up.

Everyone laughed at Dawn's little joke or was it a joke?

After Ash's explanation, our heroes continue on their way to Veilstone City for Ash's gym battle.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the new and improved Chapter 4. Gonna stop being lazy and get off my lazy butt and start working on the next chapter. Maybe. Maybe I will or maybe I won't. Depends on what I feel like.**


	5. Maylene And Lucario's Story!

Chapter 5: Maylene And Lucario's Story!

As our heroes enter Veilstone City, they encountered a Lucario, who was running as fast as it could before it stopped on a dime in front of the gang, which belongs to the gym leader, Maylene.

"Lucario, I've been looking for you all over the place." said Maylene breathless as she finally caught up with it.

"Maylene, it's good to see you again!" exclaimed Cynthia excitedly as she saw Maylene.

"Cynthia? Is that you for sure?" asked Maylene as she caught her breathe from the long run after Lucario.

"Yeah." answered Cynthia as she thought that Maylene was being a little funny about this.

"What are you doing here in Veilstone and who are your friends?" asked Maylene as she looked at Ash, Brock, and Dawn standing beside her.

"Well, I'm here for research at the Veilstone Ruins." answered Cynthia before letting Ash explain what they're also there for. She looked over to him so that he would know why she went first instead of him and he finally caught onto the reason.

"And I'm here for a gym battle." said Ash excitedly as he was thinking about winning the next badge.

"Who are you?" asked Maylene again as she was confused on who Ash was and why the others were traveling with Cynthia.

"This is Ash, Brock, and Dawn, who's a coordinator. Ash is here for the Cobble Badge since he's in the Sinnoh League." answered Cynthia as she was answering Maylene's questions about the gang. Cynthia pointed out each of the gang as she said their names.

"Hi, Ash. It's nice to meet you. I'm Maylene, the gym leader for Veilstone." said Maylene as she was introducing herself to the rest of the gang. She was thankful to know that Cynthia wasn't in any danger since she was traveling with this gang that even her herself didn't know at all.

"Maylene, I would like to challenge you to a gym battle." said Ash as he stepped forward to ask Maylene without getting in her face.

"I would like to, but my fighting spirit has been crushed." said Maylene in a depressed tone as she was looking down at the ground.

"If I may ask, Maylene. By who?" asked Brock as he was interested into finding out who did this to her.

"By a trainer named Paul. He beat me so easily that I couldn't believe it and he also called me a 'lightweight just like the badge' too." answered Maylene as she raised her head and had a look of sadness on her face from remembering what he said and who it was.

"That creep! I can't believe that he said that to you, Maylene." said Ash in disbelief as he was about ready to kill Paul for doing that to her.

"What pokemon did he use?" asked Dawn as she was trying to think of who he had in his arsenal of pokemon that could defeat her so bad.

"He used a Honchkrow, a Weavile, and a Torterra." answered Maylene as she was wondering why Dawn was asking that.

"I guess Paul's Murkrow evolved into a Honchkrow." said Brock as he was thinking about the last time that they met and Ash and Dawn saw Paul training Chimchar hard with Ursaring, Murkrow, Torterra, and Elekid, before it evolved into Electabuzz.

"Let me check it out." said Ash as he was pulling out his Pokedex from his pocket.

"_Honchkrow, the dark flying pokemon. It is the evolved form of Murkrow. It loves to come out at night and cause people trouble."_ said the Pokedex with the picture of a Honchkrow showing on it as it was saying that.

_(With Team Rocket)_

Team Rocket was just hiding behind a bush, listening to their conversation, when Meowth came up with an idea for a change instead of Jessie.

"How about we go and spy around that gym and see if we can snatch any rare pokemon?" asked Meowth as it was looking back and forth between Jessie, on its left, and James, on its right.

"Sure, why not. We need to see about a promotion from the boss anyway." said Jessie and James in unison as they were surprised that they didn't think about that idea sooner.

Once they got done there, they headed for the gym to spy and anything else they could do to try to steal the gym's pokemon.

_(Back With The Gang)_

"Hey, Maylene. How about a battle with me?" asked Dawn as she was thinking of a way to make Maylene's fighting spirit come back to her.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Ash and Brock in unison and in shock as they looked at her with shocked expressions on their faces.

After that shocking turn around, one question remains: Will Maylene accept Dawn's battle challenge?

* * *

After Dawn challenged Maylene to a battle in hope to regain her fighting spirit, we find out what Maylene will say and do about Dawn's idea.

"Dawn, are you serious?" asked a shocked Ash as he was still looking at her like she had ten heads or something.

"Yes, Ash, and don't sound so shocked about it, ok?" asked Dawn as she was certain about her plan working and trying to get Ash to go along with it if he wanted to get his next badge.

Ash was still too shocked to say anything, so he just nodded and went with her idea since he was starting to get a hold of what she was thinking about.

"Dawn, I accept your challenge." answered Maylene as she was shocking everyone else again. She even surprised herself as she was thinking about what she had just said.

"Are you sure about this, Maylene?" asked Cynthia uncertain about what her friend was doing and if it was the right choice for her after suffering a hard loss to Paul.

"Yes, I'm sure about this. Let's go to the battlefield, Dawn." replied Maylene calmly as she was motioning for Dawn to follow her to the gym.

"Ok." said Dawn excitedly as she followed Maylene to the gym along with the others following her.

_(In The Veilstone Gym)_

Once everyone was in the gym and Maylene and Dawn in the trainer boxes, ready to battle, the battle was ready to begin as the referee came out.

"This match between Maylene, the gym leader, and the challenger, Dawn of Twinleaf Town, is about to begin! Trainers ready?" announced the referee in a feminine voice as she was looking back and forth between Maylene and Dawn.

"Yeah!" answered Dawn and Maylene in unison as they were ready to begin the battle.

"Then let the match begin!" said the referee as she gave the signal to start.

"Go Machoke!"

"Go Ambipom!"

"Machoke, Cross-Chop!"

"Ambipom, Dodge, then Focus Punch!"

The Focus Punch hit Machoke hard in mid-air, but not hard enough to knock it out since it got back up.

"Machoke, Submission Attack!"

"Ambipom, Dodge followed by Double Hit!"

Double hit did a lot of damage to Machoke to knock it out.

"Machoke is unable to battle. The winner is Ambipom!"

"Good job, Ambipom." said Dawn as she was happy to defeat Maylene's Machoke.

"It's not over yet, Dawn! Go Lucario!" said Maylene as she was releasing Lucario. The others noticed that she was starting to have her fighting spirit came back to her while she was battling Dawn.

"I'll stick with Ambipom." said Dawn as she was thinking of a strategy and thinking about Ambipom's experiences in battle before it was traded to her from Ash for her Buizel.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"

"Ambipom, Double Team!"

But it was too late. Ambipom got hit extremely hard by Aura Sphere that it got knocked out with only one hit because it had taken a lot of damage when it was battling with Machoke.

"Ambipom is unable to battle. The winner is Lucario!"

"Ambipom, No!" said Dawn as she return it to its pokeball with a expression that clearly read, "Why does Ambipom get knocked out when I need it the most right now".

"Go Piplup!" said Dawn as she was returning to the battle after thinking of a new strategy.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere again!"

Piplup, Bubblebeam!"

The Bubblebeam smashed into the Aura Sphere head on in mid-air in the center of the battlefield.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere to end it!"

"Piplup, Peck!"

Piplup was hit first and it was knocked out as well when the Aura Sphere hit it.

"Good job, Piplup. You tried your best." said Dawn as she was returning it to its pokeball as she was congratulating it on a job well done.

"Good job, Lucario. Well, it looks like we got our fighting spirit. Thanks, Dawn." said Maylene as she was looking at Lucario and it also looked happy as it was happy that she got it back too.

"No problem! Glad to help you." said Dawn as she was smiling because her plan had worked.

"Ash, how about our gym battle tomorrow? What do you say?" asked Maylene as she was looking at him.

"Sure, Maylene! See you tomorrow!" replied Ash as he was leaving with the others as he was following closely behind them.

Let's see how Team Rocket's doing after trying to get some rare gym pokemon.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"We looked all around that stupid gym and not a single rare pokemon in sight. Oh well, maybe next gym." said Team Rocket in unison and in a depressed tone too while leaving the gym since they couldn't find any rare pokemon at all in the gym.

_(Back With The Gang)_

"I hope you know what pokemon to use against her, Ash, because she' pretty tough." said Dawn on their way to the Pokemon Center as she was thinking about how tough a battler Maylene is.

"Of course I know what I'm doing, Dawn. Don't worry." said Ash as he was already thinking about a plan for tomorrow's battle.

After Dawn helped Maylene get her fighting spirit back, our hero can't wait to battle Maylene the next day for the Cobble Badge.

* * *

The next day, our hero is ready for his gym battle and maybe his third badge, the Cobble Badge.

"I'm so ready for this!" yelled Ash as they were entering the gym with him leading the way.

"Ash, could you keep it down? We're right here." asked Dawn as she was acting like his voice had hurt her ears, but it truly didn't.

"Sorry guys, but I'm so psyched for it." replied Ash as he looked a little embarrassed about doing that around the others.

"Gee Ash, I couldn't have guessed it." said Brock sarcastically as he was trying to make the others laugh, but he only made them confused.

"What does that suppose to mean, Brock?" asked Ash as he looked back at Brock, who was on Ash's left.

"Nothing at all, Ash. Nothing at all." replied Brock as he was still trying to get his point over to the others, but he was still failing.

As they were trying to figure out what Brock meant, they found Maylene waiting for them by the battlefield, standing with her referee on her right.

"Hey, Ash. I hope you had a good night's sleep." said Maylene as she was welcoming our heroes with her new-found fighting spirit.

"I sure did." said Ash as he was getting into the trainer box.

They entered the trainer boxes to start their gym battle with the referee taking her place in between Ash, who was on her left, and Maylene, who was on her right, on the sidelines.

"This match between Maylene, the gym leader and the challenger, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, is about to begin! Trainers ready?" asked the referee as she was looking back forth between Ash and Maylene.

"Yeah!" answered Ash and Maylene in unison as they were excited to start the battle.

"Then let the match begin!"

"Go Meditite!"

"Go Staravia!"

"Meditite, Focus Punch!"

"Staravia, Aerial Ace!"

Staravia's Aerial Ace hit hard in mid-air in the middle of the battlefield, but Meditite didn't go down just yet since it got back up.

"Meditite, Hi-Jump Kick!"

"Staravia, Aerial Ace again!"

Staravia knocked out Meditite in a flash because it took a lot of damage from the Aerial Ace hitting it twice.

"Meditite is unable to battle. Staravia is the winner!"

"Go Machoke!"

"I'm sticking with Staravia." said Ash as he had his strategy going.

"Machoke, Cross-Chop!"

"Staravia, Quick Attack!"

Actually, the Quick Attack turned into Brave Bird, but Machoke's Cross-Chop knocked Staravia out with only one hit as it was having a hard time trying to control the Brave Bird.

"Staravia is unable to battle! Machoke's the winner!"

"Go Chimchar!"

_(With Dawn, Brock, And Cynthia)_

"Why's Ash using Chimchar, Brock?" asked Cynthia as she was curious to why he was using Chimchar in the battle instead of one of his other pokemon.

"Because Ash believes in Chimchar's abilities, Cynthia." answered Brock as he was thinking about all of the hard training that both Ash and Chimchar had been put through with Dawn shaking her head in agreement with him.

_(Back To The Battle)_

"Machoke, Karate Chop!"

"Chimchar, Flamethrower!"

Chimchar's attack stopped the Karate Chop quickly in mid-air.

"Machoke, Submission!"

"Chimchar, Dig!"

The attacks missed each other completely as Chimchar used Dig to miss the Submission.

"Machoke, use Focus Punch when Chimchar come up!"

"Chimchar, Flame Wheel!"

Chimchar's attack hit Machoke hard enough to knock it out with only a couple of hits.

"Machoke's is unable to battle. Chimchar's the winner!"

"Go Lucario!"

"Chimchar, Flamethrower!"

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"

Chimchar was knocked out with a hit by the powerful Aura Sphere because of all of the damage that it had received in the battle with Machoke.

"Chimchar's unable to battle. Lucario's the winner!"

"Go Buizel!"

"Lucario, Brick-Break!"

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!"

The attacks hit each other hard, but nobody was going down just yet because they were both standing with fierce looks of determination on their faces.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere one more time!"

"Buizel, Dodge then Sonic Boom!"

Lucario's attack missed, but Buizel's attack hit its mark and the Sonic Boom knocked Lucario out cold before it could last another round of battling.

"Lucario's unable to battle. Buizel's the winner and the match goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" announced the referee as she looked to Ash.

"Alright Buizel, we did it!" said Ash as he hugged Buizel after he went out to it.

"Congratulations Ash, and to prove of your win at the Veilstone Gym, I award you the Cobble Badge." said Maylene as she was handing Ash his badge after she walked over to him and Buizel.

"Thanks, Maylene. Alright, we got the Cobble Badge!" said Ash excitedly as he stood in his usual pose after he had just gotten a badge.

"Now onto my pokemon contest at Lake Valor." said Dawn excitedly as she was eager to get to another contest.

"But first, the Veilstone Ruins for my research then we can go to Lake Valor." said Cynthia as she was reminding them of what they were also there for besides Ash's gym battle.

_(In A Secret Base Close To The Ruins)_

"Are we all set for tomorrow's invasion of the Veilstone Ruins for the piece of the puzzle that we need?" asked the same voice from Solaceon Town as they were making sure that everyone knew the plan.

"Yes, we are, sir." replied a girl and a guy in unison as they were letting him know that they understood the plan.

"Good. Then let our plan commence tomorrow." said the guy as he was happy that everything was set for tomorrow.

_(Back With The Gang)_

"We'll go to the Ruins, since the sun's up for a little while longer, then we'll spend the night there to get a jump start on research, ok?" asked Cynthia as they were getting ready to leave the Veilstone Gym.

"Yeah!" replied the rest of the gang in unison as they were doing the same.

After our heroes said 'Good-bye' to Maylene, they continue on their way to the Ruins before heading out to Lake Valor.

* * *

**I hope you liked the new and improved Chapter 5. Sorry it took me so long! I had exams for the past two days and I can't believe that I mostly worked on it when I was in Web Design 2 this morning after the midterm. Yeah! Exams are over for now. Just wait until the spring exams. yeah! Chack out my profile to see about the challenge that I put up for everyone to try! See ya later!**


	6. Ash Isn't Safe In His Dreams Anymore!

**I keep forgetting to put in the disclaimer so here it is:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon at all, but if I did this would truly happen in the show or even in a movie!**

**I'll let you know when I actually put in my own characters into the story. Yeah!**

**

* * *

****Chapter 6: Ash Isn't Safe In His Dreams Anymore!**

After arriving at the Ruins, which look like a couple of rocks, which were meteors, and tablets spread all over the place, our heroes are planning on sleeping there to get a head start on Cynthia's research tomorrow.

Again, everyone was dreaming about achieving their goals, but Ash was having an almost nightmare because he was thinking about what the King would do if he was let free into the world in Ash's body.

_(In Ash's Dream)_

Ash was dreaming about the King taking over his body for good and getting rid of Ash's spirit until, the King interrupted his dream/nightmare and it was just in time because Ash couldn't stand one more minute of watching it.

"What are you doing in my dreams?" asked Ash as he was annoyed that the King interrupted his dream/nightmare and he crossed his arms as he said that.

"I came to tell you that you have to figure out how many times that I have appeared so far." replied the King as he was happy about his plan coming into play.

"What are you talking about, King?" asked Ash as he was confused on what the King just said and he uncrossed his arms when the King said that.

"I mean that you have to count up all of the times that I've appeared possessing your body." answered the King, a little annoyed at Ash and how he wasn't getting a hold of what he was trying to tell him.

"What for?" asked Ash still confused since he wasn't catching onto what the King was planning.

"Because when I possess your body 20 times, I will be able to rule the world! Ha Ha Ha!" replied the King as he laughed since he wanted Ash to figure it out, but it was fun to watch him be confused as heck about what he was talking about in the first place.

Ash couldn't believe what the King had just told him. He stood there with a shocked expression on his face and he couldn't move, let alone breathe about what the King just told him.

_(Back In The Real World)_

"Ash, are you awake?" asked Dawn sleepily, trying to see if Ash was awake. She heard a noise that was loud enough to wake her up from a sound sleep.

"What is it, Dawn?" asked Brock as he was getting up. He hadn't heard anything except for Dawn asking Ash if he was awake or not

"I thought I heard a noise from somewhere close. I thought that it might be Ash or something else." replied Dawn as she was starting to wake up a little more. She wasn't sure who made the noise, but to her, it sounded like Ash.

"Let me see. Ash, are you awake?" asked Brock as he was trying to wake up Ash, but he didn't get any response. They looked at each other as they were surprised that he wasn't awake or waking up when they did that.

"What's with all of the noise, you two?" asked Cynthia as she was waking up and getting up to go over to where they were by Ash's sleeping bag.

"Ash isn't awake yet and we're starting to worry about him." replied Dawn as she was looking between Cynthia and Ash.

"Oh, yeah. He's usually the first one up. That is weird." said Cynthia as she was thinking about all of the mornings that she spent with them and how he was always up before them as he was ready to train for his next gym battle.

"Maybe we should try to wake him up." suggested Dawn as she knew that wasn't like him to be this late in waking up.

"Well, it's worth a shot." said Brock as he was trying to wake him up with Dawn and Cynthia joining in to help him wake Ash up.

_(Back In Ash's Dream/Nightmare)_

"What do you mean by that?" asked Ash as he got out of his shocked state.

"You'll see in time, Ash, you'll see." replied the King before he left into the darkness of Ash's mind.

"Wait!" said Ash, but it was too late.

He disappeared into the darkness because Ash was waking up because of Brock, Dawn, and Cynthia trying to make him come out of his almost comatose state.

_(Back In The Real World)_

"Ash, wake up please!" said Cynthia as she had just finished trying to wake him up.

The gang hasn't had any luck waking him up at all since he was in an almost comatose state while he was talking to the King.

"Hey, I know! Piplup, come on out! Piplup, use Bubblebeam to wake Ash up!" said Dawn as she got an idea about how to wake him up.

After a few seconds, Ash woke up with a scream of terror in an instant as he remembered about his weird dream/nightmare with the King.

"Ash, are you ok? You've been tossing and turning for 15 minutes before we were able to wake you up." asked Dawn as she was starting to worry about him.

"No, I'm not. Brock, how many times has the King taken over my body?" asked Ash as he looked at Brock, who was on Dawn's left.

"Including the Battle Pyramid?" asked Brock as he was making his own question since he wasn't sure about including it or not.

"Yes." replied Ash as he was frantic about how many times he was controlled by the King.

"I guess it would be 3 times. Why?" asked Brock again as he wasn't sure what Ash was talking about.

"Because the King said that after 20 times of controlling my body, he'll be able to rule the world." explained Ash as he looked at his sleeping bag. This shocked everyone as they never thought about the King being able to do that.

"So that means we have 17 more times. Wow." said Cynthia amazed as she thought about all of the times that he would need to take over Ash's body. Brock and Dawn just looked at Ash and they were wondering what could help him try to make the King stop taking over his body, but unfortunately, they didn't have many solutions to that question.

After having a dream where the King tells Ash more about what's going to happen next, our heroes begin to help Cynthia with her research.

* * *

Later that same day, our heroes finish helping Cynthia with her research as she told them that she could handle it from here.

What they don't know is that a new team will be visiting them very soon.

_(Back At The Ruins)_

"Good. Those kids are gone. Let's go, you two." said the same voice from before to his two friends as he was leaving to go to the meteors and tablets, but mostly the little box in a little holding case by a tablet that Cynthia looked at before.

_(Back With The Gang)_

They were about to leave, when all of a sudden, they heard an explosion coming from the ruins. They ran to see what is it and when they ran into the new team, they hid behind a couple of bushes so that the new team wouldn't notice them as they were watching what the new team as they were talking about something and showing it off.

"Who are they?" asked Ash as he hadn't seen them before now.

"They're called Team Galactic and I've heard that they steal 'Information Cubes' from certain ruins." explained Cynthia as they were watching Team Galactic look and talk about the Information Cube that the leader held in his hands.

"Information Cubes? What are they?" asked Dawn as she never heard about them or even saw them.

"Information Cubes contain certain information on Legendary Pokemon, such as Dialga and Palkia." replied Cynthia as she had received a gasp from all three of them as they couldn't believe what was inside those small cubes.

Ash couldn't just sit there and watch them take the Information Cube away that easy. He let his heart lead him and it made him stand up and start to run towards Team Galactic.

"Then we have to stop them." said Ash as he was running toward Team Galactic to get the Information Cube back.

"Wait, Ash! You don't know what you're doing!" yelled Brock as he got up with Dawn and Cynthia right behind him and they started to run after Ash since they didn't want anything to happen to him.

The rest of the gang followed Ash to try to stop him from being noticed by Team Galactic, but it was too late.

They sent out 4 Golbats and a Toxicroak to capture them which wasn't a problem for them at all.

The pokemon surrounded the gang in a minute or even less as they were that quick to respond to the commands.

"Who's that pokemon?" asked Dawn as she was pulling out her Pokedex from her backpack.

"_Toxicroak, the poison dart pokemon. It is the evolved form of Croagunk. The red claws on the back of its hands can disperse poison."_ said the Pokedex as it had a picture of Toxicroak on the screen.

"Golbat, Toxicroak, do whatever you want to them." said Saturn, one of the commanders for Team Galactic and the head of the operation, as he was still holding the Information Cube in his hands.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" said Ash in an attempt to break the circle of pokemon, but the other pokemon dodged it and hit Pikachu with a Steel Wing attack which sent Pikachu on a trip.

Pikachu came flying back and landed at Ash's feet with Ash making sure that it was ok and it was thankfully and it relieved Ash's stress about Pikachu, but it didn't relieve the stress about Team Galactic taking the Information Cube away from the Ruins.

Ash got really mad just as Saturn was holding up the cube to have a better look at it.

Ash's anger toward Saturn attracted the King back and in a minute, the King was in control of Ash's body once again. The others didn't even notice that Ash slumped over a little as the King took over his body.

The King went running past the pokemon circle and charged at Saturn to get the cube back, but Golbat used Steel Wing to knock him back by the others. They all heard him hit the ground with a loud thud and they were hoping that Ash's body would be fine after the King got done with it.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack full power to knock the cube out of his hands!" commanded the King as he tried to stand up, but he had his right arm clutching his stomach as he could start to feel the pain of the Steel Wing rack through his body.

Pikachu knocked it out of Saturn's hands so fast that it went flying all the way back to Cynthia, who caught it in the knick of time before it could hit the ground.

Saturn got really angry that his plan was being foiled by a bunch of kids and he had one target that he knew would be able to get the rest of the gang out of there: Ash or the King.

"That's it! Golbat, Sludge Bomb and Toxicroak, Poison Jab on the kid!" commanded Saturn as he was looking at Ash/the King.

"Ash, look out!" yelled Dawn, but the King took it whole-heartedly since he could barely mover because of the Steel Wing hitting him hard and was poisoned badly while he was knocked onto the ground. He hit the ground with another hard thud and the others were hoping that Ash's body wasn't going to have broken bones after this.

But before he left Ash's body, he had one more trick up his sleeve to try to finish them off for the others.

"Pikachu, maximum Thunderbolt on Golbat and Toxicroak!" said the King as he was leaving Ash's body with his hand still clutching where the Steel Wing, Sludge Bomb and Poison Jab hit him in the stomach.

Golbat and Toxicroak were knocked unconscious by the powerful Thunderbolt and they were recalled back into their pokeballs quickly by Saturn and the boy and girl grunts.

"Let's get out of here." said Saturn as he was already starting to leave the Ruins.

"Yes, sir." said the two grunts in unison as they followed him out of the Ruins.

When Team Galactic left, our heroes rushed Ash to a hospital, postponing their leaving of Veilstone City.

After a scary moment with the King taking over Ash's body and getting poisoned badly, our heroes stay in Veilstone for another day for Ash to get better before continuing onto Lake Valor for Dawn's next contest.

* * *

After their first encounter of Team Galactic, our heroes are in the Veilstone City Hospital for Ash's poison that was left behind by the King's actions the day before. The others weren't too happy about what the King did with Ash's body because he was acting as if it was his own and not some else's body.

Ash was barely conscious when he heard a familiar voice that he knew could wake him up from just about anything.

"Pikapi…" said Pikachu as it was trying to wake up Ash when it was sitting on his chest. It was happy to feel Ash's chest going up and down instead of seeing it heaving because of the poison in his body when they brought him here.

Ash opened his eyes a little and then, he closed them for a few more minutes as he was still trying to figure out what happened yesterday. But he couldn't concentrate for long.

When he did that, the King's face appeared, scaring him a lot and he couldn't take it anymore from him.

Then, he awoke with a fright because he saw the King's face and it wasn't exactly friendly when he saw it. He sat up in bed as he was trying to catch his breathe and trying to get rid of the image of the King out of his mind and when he did that, he knocked Pikachu off of his chest and it landed on his lap. It hugged him around the stomach area as best as it could as it was happy to see that he was ok.

"Ash, you're finally awake!" exclaimed Dawn as she got up from the chair that was sitting next to the hospital bed.

"Dawn, where am I?" asked Ash as he was wondering where he was. He was just wearing his white t-shirt and pants and he noticed that his jacket, hat, and backpack was draped over the back of the chair that Dawn was just sitting in with his shoes by the left side of the chair.

Then they heard the door open when he asked that question which kind of startled them a little bit.

"Oh, hey, Ash. You're in the hospital." answered Brock as he was entering with Cynthia in tow as she closed the door so that they could talk privately without anyone overhearing them.

"How did I get here?" asked Ash as he was trying to find out what happened the day before since it was all a blur to him after he was staring at Saturn with an angry expression on his face.

"I can answer that for you, Ash. Well, Saturn commanded Golbat and Toxicroak to use Sludge Bomb and Poison Jab on the King and since he was in your body, the two attacks poisoned you badly. Then we brought you here to get treated." answered Cynthia as she was answering Ash's question since they knew that he wouldn't remember after the King took so many hits in his body.

"So that means 4 down and 16 more times to go." said Ash a little depressed as he looked down at the sheets that covered the lower half of him.

"Don't worry, Ash. Hey think about it this way, you have more times to get control over you body when the King takes over." said Dawn as she was pointing out the obvious to all of them.

"That's true, Dawn, but he's a lot stronger than me already." said Ash as he was still depressed about the King doing that to him and he was also thinking about the King's strength and how was it more superior to his own strength.

"Ash, don't say that! I think with a little bit of body training, it might help a bit with getting more control of your body when the King attacks." said Cynthia as she was cheering Ash up and it worked.

"Ok, Cynthia, thanks. So Brock, did the doctor say when I could get out of here?" asked Ash as he was sounding a little more cheery than before because he knew that he could count on the others to help him out of this. He really wanted to get out and when he looked at Brock, he could see that Ash wanted to get out of here and start to get back on the road so that they could get to Dawn's contest and have it over with so that they could get to the next city with a gym in it.

"Well, he said that you could leave, but you have to take it easy for a little while." replied Brock as he was trying to tell Ash that he shouldn't push himself too hard for a little while.

"Why did he say that?" asked Ash as he was getting up from the hospital bed, but he wasn't going to stand for long.

Just as Ash had gotten on his feet, he fell onto his knees, clutching his stomach as he could start to feel the pain from the Steel Wing comeback to his stomach.

"I guess that's why. What else happened when the King took over?" asked Ash as he was sort of answering his own question, but you got to admit that was hilarious.

"Well, he got hit by a Steel Wing if you need to know." answered Brock as he was starting to wonder about how Ash really was after taking so many hits yesterday.

"That's just great, Brock." said Ash with a little sarcastic tone as Brock as helping him back up onto the bed to sit for a little while.

"Well Ash, that was pretty funny." said Dawn as she was giggling and they just looked at her as if she was crazy, but they thought about what was funny and it was Ahs not asking if anything happened before he tried to get up.

Let's see what Team Rocket's up to while the gang tries to get things taking care of with Ash.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"I can't believe that Team Galactic did such a thing as to try to steal whatever those things are." said Jessie as they were riding in their hot air balloon that was shaped like a Meowth.

"I think that Champion said that they were called Information Cubes, Jess." said Meowth as they were looking out.

"Well, how about we head on over to Lake Valor for your contest, Jessie?" asked James as he was getting off the subject of Team Galactic and get on a pleasant subject.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. Let's go." replied Jessie as she was starting to make the balloon head that way.

"Hey! Wait for us!" said James and Meowth in unison as they were almost thrown out of the balloon when she did that.

Let's see what Team Galactic doing since Team Rocket's just starting to get boring anymore.

_(With Team Galactic At The Ruins)_

"Well, we finally got it even those kids stopped us the first time." said Saturn as he took the Information Cube from the ruins.

They had gone back to get the Information Cube at the ruins after the gang left to get Ash treated and they had successfully taken it without any trouble too after yesterday's crazy and stupid stuff.

"Let's go onto the next ruins at Lake Valor then we'll go to the Pastoria Ruins from there." said Saturn leaving with the two grunts following close behind to the helicopter that was waiting for them.

They left 5 minutes later and were on their way to Lake Valor as well in their helicopter.

Let's check on how the gang's doing at the hospital.

_(Back With The Gang)_

"Are we ready to go yet?" asked Dawn a little impatient as she was standing by the door with Cynthia and Ash.

"Ok, we're all squared away here so we can go now." replied Brock as he was starting to head towards Dawn, who was waiting by the door for him with the others.

"Then let' get going." said Dawn as she was leading the way out of the hospital with the others following behind.

After leaving the hospital, our heroes continue on their way to Lake Valor for Dawn's third ribbon.

* * *

**I present to you the improved Chapter 6! I hope you liked it. Gonna try to type up the next chapter as soon as I can while I'm listening to the new Skillet songs from their newest CD _Awake_ along with a few from their CDs _Comatose_ and _Collide_. Yeah!**


	7. A Battle Between Pikachu And Raichu!

**I forgot to give you a little hint to the different styles that I use:**

**_Italicize=Thought_**

**()=Author's Note or Comment**

**""=speaking**

**I hoped this helped you!**

**

* * *

****Chapter 7: A Battle Between Pikachu And Raichu!**

Just a couple of day's walk to Lake Valor, our heroes stop in a small town, which was surrounded by trees so that it would be secluded from everyone, to get some training in for Dawn's contest, which they found a small area away from everything in town to do.

Ash wanted to help by battling with Turtwig, but Brock suggested that Ash stay on the sidelines for a little while longer, but, of course, Ash just couldn't sit on the sidelines too long. (Just like me when I'm sitting in desks at school! I'll explain later about it.)

As wanted Turtwig to battle with Pikachu to help it out with controlling Energy Ball.

Turtwig sent out a small Energy Ball, but it turned out to be a regular size Energy Ball and it sent poor Pikachu flying into the forest a little bit.

As Ash was running to find Pikachu with the others following him, another trainer named Rick, who has a Pichu and a Raichu, who was trying to capture Pikachu after he cornered it once it fell in his path in the forest.

Just then, Ash ran in to protect Pikachu (Like he always does for his pokemon!), but got zapped by Pichu after Rick told it to use a Thunderbolt on Pikachu. Ash was wincing as the attack went through his body and he could feel how hard the King had gotten hit by the Steel Wing two days ago.

Brock and Dawn were worried about Ash when the attack stopped shocking him and they were hoping that he wasn't hurt too bad by it.

"Hey! What are you doing? I'm trying to capture a Pikachu!" yelled Rick as he didn't even notice that Ash was wincing as he got shocked.

"What are you talking about? Pikachu belongs to me." said Ash a little weak because of feeling what the King did to his body as he was recovering from the shock that he'd just received a few seconds ago.

"Oh, it is. I'm sorry. I didn't know that." said Rick in a very apologetic voice as he was looking at Ash.

"That's ok. Oh, by the way, my name's Ash." said Ash as he was introducing himself after he got himself collected.

"Hi, Ash. It's nice o meet you. My name's Rick and I was wondering would you like to have a battle? My Raichu versus your Pikachu?" asked Rick as he was still interested in Pikachu and about how it is in battle.

It didn't too long for Ash to respond after he considered what kind of consequences he would have if he battled right after the King took over his body.

"Sure, Rick. I'd love to." replied Ash as he was walking towards Rick.

"But Ash…" started Dawn as she tried to warn him about his health and the King's plan to take over the world as her, Brock, and Cynthia was following Ash and Rick to a little secluded place that was as big as a battlefield.

"Don't worry. HE won't be coming around anytime soon." said Ash as he was heading to his side of the battlefield, which was on his right.

"Ok." said Dawn as she was standing with Brock as Cynthia went into the middle of the battlefield on the sidelines to give the signal to start.

_(On The Battlefield)_

The two of them were ready to battle in a matter of minutes.

"I'll be the referee. Are both trainers ready?" asked Cynthia as she was taking over for Brock and looking back and forth between Ash, on her right, and Rick, on her left.

"Yeah!" They answered in unison as they were ready to start the battle.

"Then let the match begin!" said Cynthia as she gave the signal to start the battle.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

The Thunderbolt was absorbed by Raichu to charge it up for a giant attack that both Rick and Raichu were planning on.

"Ok Raichu, Thunder!"

This time, Pikachu absorbed the Thunder, but it was also hit with some damage because the Thunder was super-charged by the Thunderbolt.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

"Raichu, Iron Tail as well!"

The two attacks clashed into each other in mid-air in the middle of the battlefield, causing some sparks to fly from both Pikachu's and Raichu's cheeks that lit up the field a little.

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

"Raichu, Volt Tackle too!"

Again the attacks hit each other, causing sparks to fly again, but this time in mid-air, but this time around, Pikachu took heavy damage and it was hardly able to stand anymore because of the damage.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Pikachu charged at Raichu and it smashed into it, but it wasn't expecting what happened next at all.

"Raichu, Hyper Beam!"

"Pikachu, Dodge it!"

But Raichu used its tail to trap Pikachu with one of the rocks that was on the edge of the battlefield that was opposite of Brock, Cynthia, and Dawn.

Raichu let out a Hyper Beam at close range which sent Pikachu and the pieces of the rock flying and knocked it out hard.

"Pikachu's unable to battle. Raichu's the winner!" said Cynthia as she was worried about Pikachu.

Ash ran over to Pikachu to see if it was ok because it wasn't moving since it got hit by the Hyper Beam.

"Pikachu! Pikachu, are you alright?" asked Ash as he picked Pikachu up into his arms. Pikachu opened its eyes a little to let Ash that it was ok and then, it looked at Rick and Raichu along with Ash.

As Rick, Pichu, and Raichu were walking away, Pikachu collapsed in Ash's arms, unconscious.

"We have to get Pikachu over to the Pokemon Center quickly before it's too late!" said Ash as he was starting to run in the direction of the Pokemon Center with the others following closely behind.

Let's see how Team Rocket liked seeing Pikachu get beat up by its evolved form.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"I can't believethat poor Pikachu was beaten up like that." said Jessie as the gang ran by their hiding place, which was a giant bush.

"Let's stick around so that we'd find out if Pikachu can beat that big, bad Raichu." said Meowth as it was looking at Rick and Raichu as they were coming back from the way that they were walking and headed toward town to find a hotel to stay in.

"I agree with Meowth." said James as they were both looking at Jessie to see what she was going to do.

"Ok, we'll stay." said Jessie as she was a little depressed because they weren't going to beat the gang to Lake Valor.

Let's check in with the gang.

_(Back With The Gang)_

As our heroes race over to the Pokemon Center, Pikachu's clinging onto dear life, but will the gang make it in time?

* * *

After an intense battle with Raichu, Pikachu's life is in Nurse Joy's hands.

"Nurse Joy! We have an emergency!" yelled Ash as he was running into the Pokemon Center with the others following him. He was out of breath from the run and he was starting to feel some pain again, but he ignored it as he was more concerned about Pikachu than himself.

"What happened here?" asked Nurse Joy as they stopped in front of her.

"Pikachu got hit by a Hyper Beam at close range." explained Dawn as they were all looking at the unconscious Pikachu in Ash's arms.

"Let me see. Oh my! Pikachu's in critical condition! Chansey, bring the stretcher around because Pikachu needs a lot of medical attention!" commanded Nurse Joy to Chansey as she looked Pikachu over.

Chansey brought out the stretcher and Nurse Joy took Pikachu out of Ash's arms and out it on it and took it into surgery with a flick of a wrist.

_(In The Surgery Room)_

While Pikachu was resting comfortably in stable condition after working with it for a couple of minutes, Nurse Joy was about to let Pikachu get some well deserved rest when, disaster struck again for Pikachu.

Pikachu was thinking about the battle and how it could've had a different ending than what it did when all of a sudden, its heart rate slowed down from the 150s to the 110s.

Nurse Joy couldn't believe that Pikachu was starting to crash after it took her so long to get it to its stable condition and she brought the defibrillator in to get Pikachu's heart rate back up.

She tried 2 times, but it wasn't working, but what happens next will both help and shock her at the same time about Pikachu and Ash's bond.

_(Outside The Surgery Room)_

Ash was watching everything that was going on in there. He couldn't believe that he was about to lose his best friend after a stupid battle with Raichu.

Tears started to run down his face as he watched his best friend in deep, dangerous trouble that he couldn't help it out of like he did before when they were attacked by a flock of Spearow when they were starting out.

"I'm sorry, Pikachu. I should have never let you battle Raichu. How dumb am I?!" said Ash in a sad-angry tone.

The others just looked at Ash as they knew that he was going to be depressed if Pikachu died and he probably would give up everything because of Pikachu's death. He probably would give up his fight against the King and he would rule the world because of Ash losing his best friend. They tried to shake that thought from their minds as they turned to look back at Pikachu.

_(Back In The Surgery Room)_

Pikachu must've heard him because its heart rate went right back into the normal range. It even started to open its eyes a little as it was starting to pull out of its little danger zone.

Nurse Joy was relieved to see it back in the normal range because she was extremely worried about whether or not Pikachu would make it.

She had just came out of the room when she saw Ash still worried about Pikachu as she saw his worried look on his face when he was still looking at Pikachu through the glass window when she came out.

"Ash, I have something to get your mind off of Pikachu while it rests. I have a message from two old friends in Snowpoint City that says to call them as soon as you can." said Nurse Joy as she thought that Ash would like some good news since he was still looking over his shoulder towards Pikachu as he was still worried about it. Ash's face lit up a little as he was wondering who would be in Snowpoint City and would want to talk to him.

As Ash went over to talk to the two old friends for a few minutes, Pikachu was being taken to a room to finish off its recovery stage.

Ash was happy when he got off of the phone with the old friends that he didn't realize that it was nighttime all ready so he just headed for their shared room and went to sleep, still a little worried about Pikachu.

_(In The Morning)_

After a crazy night with Pikachu recovering still from the battle with Raichu, the gang wakes up to find a huge surprise for them when they get into Pikachu's room.

Pikachu was awake and ready to pretty much take on anybody now and they were happy about Pikachu feeling like its old self.

Ash went in by himself to ask Pikachu if it wanted to evolve into a Raichu, but Pikachu turned away from him as if saying 'No.' to Ash.

Ash also asked Pikachu if it wanted to battle Raichu again and it shook its head 'Yes.' As it was excited to get its revenge for having that Raichu beat it like it did.

Ash went outside, with the others following him along with Pikachu, to find Rick and challenge him again so that he could prove that Pikachu was capable of beating his Raichu.

After Pikachu was healed and Ash trying to find Rick again to challenge him, will Pikachu be able to beat Raichu?

* * *

Las time, Ash and Rick had a battle using Pikachu and Raichu and Pikachu was in critical condition afterwards, but it made a full recovery at the Pokemon Center.

Now, Ash had caught up to Rick, before he left town, in the same area as before, and challenged him to another battle against Raichu with Pikachu, but there's gonna be a surprise in the battle that no one saw coming at all.

"Hey, Rick! I was wondering, would you like to battle again? Pikachu versus Raichu again?" asked Ash as he was almost out of breath from the run with the others trying to calm themselves down before they could say anything.

"Sure, Ash. I just hope that your Pikachu's feeling better after our last match." answered Rick as he was thinking about the last match that they had.

"Pikachu's actually feeling better then ever. Thanks for asking." said Ash as they were taking their spots on each side of the battlefield as before.

_(On The Battlefield)_

They got into their battle positions to start the battle with Cynthia going to the middle of the battlefield on the sidelines as she was going to give the signal to start again.

"This rematch between Ash and Rick is about to begin. Trainers ready?" asked Cynthia as she was looking back and forth between Ash, on her right again, and Rick, on her left again.

"Yeah!" they said in unison as they were excited to start the rematch.

"Then let the match begin!" said Cynthia as she gave out the signal to start.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Raichu, Thunder!"

The two attacks smashed into each other, creating a giant smoke cloud that covered the entire battlefield, including the sidelines, but what they don't know is that Ash is being possessed by the King as the smoke cloud disappears. Pikachu could feel the aura coming from Ash's body and it thought that it would be a great idea to just go with the King so that it wouldn't give out that it knew that the King was back in charge, but it knew that the others would find out soon when the King gave it an attack to do.

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle followed by Iron Tail!" said the King as he gave the others acknowledgement that he was back in control of Ash's body.

"Raichu, Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu's back-to-back attacks gave Raichu a lot of damage, but it wasn't over yet.

In the middle of the battle, Ash's mind came back and now, Ash took control of his body for only two attacks, and then, the King came back to end the battle.

"Pikachu, end it with a maximum Volt Tackle!"

"Raichu, Hyper Beam!"

Pikachu charged at Raichu while it was charging up the energy and Pikachu hit first and it knocked Raichu out before it could release the Hyper Beam.

"Raichu's unable to battle. Pikachu's the winner!" said Cynthia as she was shocked at what happened in the battle with Ash and the King fighting with each other for control.

The King walked over to where Rick and Raichu were and tried to lower his confidence like he was doing to poor Ash. (NOOOO! Don't do that to him, King or I'll come and punch you out! Oh, wait a minute. You're not even a person because then I would only be hitting my Ash! JERK!)

"Nice try, loser. Well, I'll be seeing you soon, losers! Ha Ha Ha!" said the King as he was looking at Brock, Cynthia, and Dawn for that last part before leaving Ash's body.

This time, Ash didn't fall unconscious because he was able to come back during the battle to interrupt the King while he was battling.

"Ash, I don't know what that was all about, but that was a great fight I had." said Rick a little weirded out from seeing and hearing a different side of Ash than he did before.

"Sorry about that, Rick, but that was another side of me that doesn't come out that often." explained Ash as he was a little embarrassed about him having to deal with the King.

Ash shook Rick's hand for a great battle, but as soon as Rick turned to leave with Raichu and Pichu following behind, Ash fell down on his stomach unconscious.

The rest of the gang couldn't believe what just happened in the battle and how it resulted with the King winning for both Ash and him.

While all of this was happening with the gang, Team Rocket couldn't believe it either.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"What just happened with the twerps?" asked Meowth as it was trying to figure out what happened with Ash.

"I think that the twerp won, but something wasn't right with him at all." replied James as he was thinking about what happened in the battle.

"Let's forget about this and concentrate on my contest in 2 days." said Jessie as she was leaving to practice (If that's what you would call it!) for the contest.

While Jessie's practicing her contest moves, the gang's checking on Ash to see if he's alright.

_(Back With The Gang)_

"Is Ash alright, Brock?" asked Dawn as both she and Cynthia were starting to worry about him with having to deal with the King.

"Yeah, he's fine. He just needs a good night's sleep and he'll be up before you know it." replied Brock as he was getting up from being next to Ash to see if he's ok.

After finally beating Rick and his Raichu with the King's help, our heroes stay for another night and then, continue on their way to Lake Valor.

* * *

**Rick is my own character that I created for this chapter so I hoped that you like how he came out and I just wnated to let you knwo that there is only one challenge left in my profile because the Palletshipper fic yesterday when I was bored! Yeah! See ya next chapter!**


	8. A Visit From Two Old Friends!

**Chapter 8: A Visit From Two Old Friends!**

After arriving at Lake Valor, our heroes got another call, when they got to the Pokemon Center, from the two friends saying that they'll be there in 5 minutes.

So now, they are waiting at the docks near Lake Valor for their boat to come in. They were all sitting on empty boxes that were close to the dock that their boat was going to dock to the pier.

"So Ash, who are the two old friends anyway?" asked Dawn curiously as she was looking at Ash, who was on her left, in between her and Brock with Cynthia sitting on her right.

"You'll see when they get here." replied Ash a little excited as he knew who they were and why they were coming here in the first place.

_(5 Minutes Later)_

The boat arrived in the dock, along with the two friends walking off of the boat along with everyone else.

As soon as Ash saw them, he was excited beyond belief to see them again after so long of not seeing them.

"May! Max! How are you?" asked Ash as he was excited to see them again. (Who did you think that it was? Wait. Don't answer that, but only if you really wanted too.)

"We're fine. How are you two?" asked May she was excited to see them again too along with Max.

"We're fine." replied Ash as he was leaving out the part that the King was back to try to rule the world like he did before when they were at the Battle Pyramid.

"Well, almost." replied Brock as he was referring to the King coming back and all while he was looking at Ash while he was saying that.

"Brock, shut it!" said Dawn as she was trying to get Brock not to mention the King to them because she thought that they weren't with Ash while he was at the Battle Pyramid.

When the others saw this, they laughed a little at the funny sight of Dawn covering Brock's mouth with her hand, but it wasn't exactly working in her favor as he got away from her.

"It's ok, Dawn. May and Max were with me in the Battle Frontier because May loves to enter contests just like you." explained Ash as he was trying to relieve Dawn of the worry about his little secret getting out and it worked too.

"Hi Dawn, it's nice to meet you. Ash has told me a lot about you." said May as she was reaching forward to shake Dawn's hand which she gladly took and shook.

"Are you here to enter the Wallace Cup too, May?" asked Dawn curiously as soon as she let go of Max's hand after she shook it too.

"Yeah, because it's part of the Johto contests too." replied May with a smile on her face.

"Guys, the registration tables will be closing soon." said Cynthia as she looked at the clock that was on a building by the dock.

"Ok, then let's GO!" said May and Dawn in unison as they were running towards the registration tables.

"Hey, wait for me!" yelled Ash as he was running after them with the others following after all three of them.

_(At The Registration Tables)_

After Ash, May, and Dawn signed up for the Wallace Cup, they run into Dawn's rival and friend, Zoey.

"Hey, Zoey. Are you entering the contest too?" asked Dawn as she was excited to see her rival/friend again after the Hearthome contest failure.

"Yep. Are you?" asked Zoey as she was looking at Dawn and the rest of the gang and trying to figure out who the two friends were and why they were with them.

"Yeah, along with Ash and his friend, May." replied Dawn as she was introducing Zoey to May.

"May, this is Dawn's friend and rival, Zoey." introduced Ash as he was telling May who Zoey was along with Max.

"Well, I'll see you later. Nice meeting you, May." said Zoey as she was leaving the gang to themselves.

"Nice meeting you too, Zoey." said May as she called after Zoey, who gave them a hand to tell them that she would and in fact, see them later.

"We should get to the hotel before it gets too late." said Brock as he was looking at the clock that was right above the opening to the registration tables.

"Ok!" said the gang in unison.

After a good night's sleep, the contest will begin in the morning.

_(The Start Of The Wallace Cup Appeal Round)_

The appeal round started with May, who was wearing something that looked like it was from movie "Lawrence of Arabia", going first, Ash, who was wearing an almost tuxedo, but it was a light grayish color instead of the usual black along with a hat the matched the outfit, going second, Zoey, who was wearing something similar to her first contest outfit, but it was red with gold here and there on her, going fifth, Jessilina going seventh, and Dawn was going last.

May used her Wartortle, the evolved form of Squirtle, to put on a beautiful display by using the water field to help out with all of its moves.

Next is Ash, but the questions are what pokemon did he choose and will the King show up again during the contest?

* * *

Last time, May and Wartortle did a beautiful job in their 1st round performance.

Now, let's see what pokemon Ash chose to do his appeal round performance.

_(Ash's 1__st__ Round Performance)_

Ash chose Buizel to do the appeal round and started off by using Water Gun followed by Sonic Boom to make the water jump into the air with grace and style.

Then, by also using the water from the field, he had Buizel use Aqua Jet to fly around the field with a spin.

They did a wonderful job together since this is Buizel's first contest ever.

_(Zoey's 1__st__ Round Performance)_

Zoey and her newly caught Finneon put on a spectacular water display with it.

They knew exactly how to use the water field as well as May and Ash, but one contestant had no idea of what to do with the water field.

_(Jessilina's 1__st__ Round Performance)_

Jessilina used Dustox for a very bad performance because they had no idea on how to use the water field properly like the others. (Like she ever knows what's she's doing in a contest! Don't shoot me Jessie lovers! "Runs and hides from Jessie lovers when they read this!")

Poor Dawn was waiting impatiently to go, but now it was her turn.

_(Dawn's 1__st__ Round Performance)_

She used Piplup for the appeal round performance and they did a beautiful display by using their newly invented combinations perfectly on the water field.

_(On The Trainer Waiting Room)_

After the first round was done and the judges were done choosing the eight coordinators moving on, Marian came out to announce the eight coordinators that were moving on.

"And here are the eight coordinators moving on!" said Marian as she pointed towards the giant screen that was above her.

May was first, Dawn was second, Zoey was third, and Ash was the last 'coordinator' (If that's w hat you would want to call him when he's in a contest!) to get in.

Jessilina wasn't going onto the 2nd round since they were in Hoenn. (WOW! That's a long time and to think that she failed all of those times too!)

_(With Team Rocket)_

"I can't believe that I didn't make it, and it's all because of the twerp and his Buizel!" yelled Jessie/Jessilina as she was angry about Ash and Buizel beating her and Dustox out of the running for the Wallace Cup Ribbon.

"Calm down, Jessie. He was only better than you today." said James as he was trying to calm her down from her little rage about not making it pass the 1st round.

"SHUT UP, JAMES!" screamed Jessie as she couldn't handle her rage anymore and she was gonna put it all on James and Meowth.

_(Back At The Contest)_

The battles for the second round was up on the screen just as fast as the appeal round were.

May was in the first battle and won easily with her Venusaur, the final evolution of Bulbasaur.

Dawn was in the second battle and had a little trouble winning with Ambipom.

Zoey was in the third match and won it with Misdreavus sort of easily.

Ash stuck with Buizel and was having a little bit of trouble there for a while, but they won it in the end.

Now the semi-finals are like this: May versus Zoey and Dawn versus Ash.

The question in everybody's mind is this: Who will win the Wallace Cup Ribbon?

* * *

Last time, the contest semi-finals pit May versus Zoey and Dawn versus Ash.

The next question is: Who will win the Wallace Cup Ribbon?

Let's find out!

_(The First Semi-Final Match)_

"The first semi-final match between May and Zoey is about to begin. 5 minutes on the clock and begin!" announced Marian excitedly as she was looking back and forth between May, who was on her left, and Zoey, who was on her right.

May chose Skitty to battle against Zoey and Glameow.

"Skitty, Double Slap followed by Blizzard!"

"Glameow, Fury Swipe followed by Secret Power!"

The attacks cancelled each other out in the middle of the battlefield.

The battle was tough, but May and Skitty knocked Zoey and Glameow out of the contest with only 1 minute left on the clock.

So May moves onto the finals, but who will her opponent be?

Will it be Ash or Dawn?

_(The Second Semi-Final Match)_

"The second semi-final match between Ash and Dawn is about to begin. 5 minutes on the clock and begin!" announced Marian excitedly as she was looking back and forth between Ash, who was on her left, and Dawn, who was on her right.

Ash chose Buizel and Dawn chose Buneary to battle them.

"Buizel, Water Gun followed by Aqua Jet!"

"Buneary, Ice Beam followed by Bounce!"

The attacks went back and forth, but when the clock ran out, Dawn had more points than Ash did and she was happy about beating him like that too.

"So Dawn moves onto the finals with May." announced Marian excitedly as she was pointing to Dawn and Buneary with her right hand.

_(Back In The Trainer Waiting Room)_

The gang was waiting for Ash to come back to congratulate him on a great battle with Dawn.

"Nice try, Ash. You did a great job up until Dawn took you down." said Max as he was proud to see how Dawn handled Ash in a battle.

"Thanks, Max." said Ash as he was a little annoyed by Max's remark about his battle with Dawn. He quickly left to get changed into his regular clothes so that he didn't have to stay in his contest outfit all day.

"Now, let's see how May's going to be." said Brock as he was thinking about what May's new strategy was.

"Since Dawn's pretty tough too." added Cynthia as she was thinking about what Dawn's strategy was like.

"I think that we should get back to our seats before the finals begin." said Max as Ash returned with his regular clothes on.

The finals were about to begin when they got there.

_(The Final Match Of The Wallace Cup)_

"The final match between May and Dawn is about to begin. 5 minutes on the clock and begin!" announced Marian excitedly as she was looking back and forth between May, who was on her left, and Dawn, who was on her right.

"Glaceon, You're On!" (Yes, Glaceon was May's Eevee if you're remembering correctly.)

"Piplup, Spotlight!"

"Glaceon, Icicle Spear!"

"Piplup, Bubblebeam!"

They cancelled each other out in one hit in the middle of the battlefield.

"Glaceon, Shadow Ball!"

"Piplup, Peck!"

Piplup absorbed the Shadow Ball to make the Peck look beautiful with the colors of the attack.

"Glaceon, Ice Beam!"

"Piplup, Whirlpool!"

The Ice Beam froze the Whirlpool, but it was only a distraction for Glaceon.

"Glaceon, Iron Tail!"

"Piplup, Bide!"

Piplup's attack hit its mark before Glaceon even attacked.

The clock ran out right after the attack.

"Let's see who the winner is…and it's Dawn!" announced Marian excitedly as she pointed to Dawn with her right hand.

"Good job, Glaceon. You tried your hardest. Return." said May as she returned Glaceon to its pokeball.

"Great job, Piplup. You were awesome." said Dawn excitedly as she hugged Piplup on a job well done.

After Dawn got her third ribbon, our heroes are celebrating that night, before May and Max left to Johto again, but what happens next will shock their world.

* * *

After winning her third ribbon the day before, Dawn's getting some advice from May during a training session.

Once the training session was over with, they stop to eat lunch in the park by the dock on a picnic table before the boat leaves in an hour.

Again, what they don't know is that Team Rocket's planning to steal all of the pokemon with Jessie at the helm of all things.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"I want my revenge on the twerp group by taking all of their pokemon." said Jessie as she was looking out of her binoculars at the gang.

"And I got a mecha machine for the whole 'Operation: Revenge' too." said Meowth proudly as it put a paw on its chest while it closed its eyes while it did that.

James was shocked that Meowth did all of this in advance since they somewhat knew that Jessie would want to get her revenge on the gang for what happened in the contest.

"Wow. You're on the ball, Meowth." complemented James as he was still in shock.

"Yep. Now let's go!" said Meowth as it and Jessie were heading off to the mecha machine with James following closely behind.

_(Back With The Gang)_

They were about to eat when Team Rocket showed up, destroying all of the food to Ash's displeasure, and sucked up all of the gang's pokemon.

"Thank you for giving us your pokemon, twerps. We'll see you after our giant promotion from the boss! See ya later, twerps!" yelled Team Rocket in unison as they were leaving.

"Well, I see they haven't changed at all." said May as they were running to catch up with Team Rocket.

Since Ash was the last one at the end of the group while they were running, nobody noticed that Ash was being possessed by the King again, but this time, even stronger than before.

"Team Rocket, stop right there!" yelled the King as he was stopping in his tracks with the others doing the same when they heard his voice.

"It's the twerp and what's with his voice?" asked Team Rocket as they were wondering what happened to Ash's normal voice as it was replaced with a demonic one.

"Oh no, not him again!" yelled May and Max in unison as they realized that the King was back inside of Ash again.

"Glaceon, Ice Beam. Venusaur and Turtwig, Razor Leaf together!" said the King as he was taking over Ash's knowledge of the three pokemon again as he was coming up with an idea.

After Glaceon used Ice Beam to weaken the net, Venusaur and Turtwig broke the net using Razor Leaf to free the rest of the pokemon.

"WHAT?! Meowth, I thought that you made it indestructible from all attacks!" yelled Jessie in disbelief as she was mad about her plan going down the drain.

"Since we were running low for money, I only made it electric-proof." said Meowth as it was cowering under Jessie as it was afraid of what she could do to him.

"Pikachu, maximum Volt Tackle!" said the King as he was leaving Ash's body.

Pikachu sent them flying and saying the usual: "Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

When the King left Ash's body, Ash fell to his knees, but he didn't fall unconscious. Everyone was looking back and forth at each other as they were starting to worry about Ash and how he's going to defeat the King that is if he can.

"Hey, May." said Max as he was starting to get an idea as Ash was starting to get up from his knees.

"Yeah, Max. What do you want?" asked May as she was curious about what he was going to tell her.

"I would like to stay with Ash and make sure that he's ok and see if I can help with anything." replied Max as he was looking at May.

It didn't take too long for May to let him stay.

"It's ok with me only if it's ok with Mom." said May as she was looking for a phone and she found one by the docks.

_(The Phone Conversation Between May And Her Mom)_

"Hi, Mom. How are you?" asked May as she saw her Mom on the video/phone.

""I'm fine, May. Is there something that I can help you with?" asked Caroline, May and Max's Mom, as she was making a question of her own.

"Well, I wanted to ask you if Max could stay with Ash here in Sinnoh." replied May as she was getting to the point.

"Are you going back to Johto and leaving Max with Ash?" asked Caroline curiously.

"Yes, Mom, but I can promise you that he'll be fine with everyone here." replied May as she was reassuring Caroline.

"Will you go back to Sinnoh once you get done competing in Johto?" asked Caroline curiously again.

"Yes, Mom. I promise." replied May a little annoyed about her Mom always asking her to do things.

"Then he can stay with Ash and the gang until you go back and if you want to, you could stay and watch both Ash and Dawn compete while you're over there." said Caroline as she was agreeing to let Max stay.

"Thanks, Mom. See you after the Sinnoh Grand Festival and the Sinnoh League. Bye." said May as she was hanging up the phone.

"Bye, May." said Caroline as she was also hanging up the phone too.

_(Back With The Gang)_

"What did Mom say?" asked Max excitedly as May rejoined the group.

"She said that you could stay with Ash and everyone here while I go back to Johto." replied May as she was leaving out the part about her coming back to Sinnoh after she was done in Johto.

"Thanks, May. I hope that you win the Grand Festival." said Max as he was excited about staying with the gang.

"Well, I should get going before my boat leaves. Bye." said May as she was leaving for the boat.

After convincing Caroline to let Max stay with Ash, May's leaving to go back to Johto.

As the boat leaves to harbor, Cynthia remembers something important for Ash.

"I know where the next gym is and it's in Pastoria City. Sorry, I forgot to tell you, Ash." said Cynthia in an apologetic tone.

"That's ok, Cynthia. I understand." said Ash before falling unconscious onto the ground, face down.

Let's see what Team Galactic is up to.

_(With Team Galactic)_

"We finally have the next piece of the puzzle. Now, let's move out and leave for the Pastoria Ruins immediately." said Saturn as he was leaving with the next piece of the puzzle in hand and the two grunts right behind him.

As Team Galactic leaves Lake Valor, let's check back in with the gang.

_(Back With The Gang)_

As the gang checks on Ash and how he's doing, the King awaits for the next time that he can take over since it felt so good because he was back in charge of a body.

After saying 'Good-Bye' to May, our heroes, now including Max, stay another night before continuing onto Pastoria City.

* * *

**Sorry for not updating. Been busy with school and the new semester. Oh Yeah! (Sarcasm expected there). Well, here's the new chapter and I hope that you take a look at my avatar before it goes away. See ya!**


	9. An Old Friend Joins The Gang!

**Chapter 9: Another Old Friend Joins The Gang!**

Still on their way to Pastoria City, our heroes see in the distance, an Azuril and a Togetic playing in an open field that was close to the right side of the trail that they were on.

"Oh wow! An Azuril and Togetic, but they look familiar to me." said Ash as he was thinking about where he saw those two before.

"Familiar or not, I'm going to catch them. Go Piplup! Piplup, Bubblebeam!" said Dawn as she was going to catch Azuril and Togetic no matter what.

"Azuril, you use Bubblebeam as well!" said a familiar voice in the woods around the open field.

"Could it be…" said the three guys in unison as they were thinking about the person that they knew with that voice.

"Who you three?" asked Dawn as she was curious about who they were talking about along with Cynthia.

But before they could answer that question, the person who made that voice came out from where they were in the forest.

It was a girl that was about Ash's height, but a little taller with red hair and she was in a yellow top and pants with a red shirt underneath them and she appeared before them.

"Who do you think you are attacking my poor pokemon like that?! Oh No!" said Misty as she was looking at Ash as she was thinking about all of the times that she had with him.

"_Not HIM again. He better not ask me anything stupid like he always did, but you never know what he's like anymore."_ said Misty in her mind.

"Misty? Is that you?" asked Ash as he was uncertain about whether or not the girl before them was the real deal or not.

"Yeah. Well, I was hoping that I wouldn't run into you, Ash, but I don't mind seeing Brock, Max, and, of course, meeting the famous Cynthia in person." said Misty as she was trying to get Ash mad just like before.

Ash was starting to get mad at Misty for saying that and it was just what she was hoping that she would do to him.

"Oh yeah. Well, same for me." said Ash with a little bit of anger in his tone and the others knew what would happen if he got too angry and they didn't want that to happen.

They looked like they were going to kill each other, but lucky for the others that Brock broke it up so that they wouldn't have to hear the King's voice again.

"Ok, knock it off you two!" said Brock as he was interrupting their little fight and it was a good thing to because Ash was starting to feel the King come back a little, but he stopped the King as soon as Brock said that.

They looked at Brock and then, they looked at each other and then, they finally stopped their little argument from progressing into something that probably wouldn't be too pleasant for all of them, but mostly Ash.

"Misty, this is Dawn and she wants to be a Top Coordinator just like May." introduced Brock as he was trying to change the subject.

"Hi, Misty. It's nice to meet you. Sorry about attacking Azuril and Togetic like that." said Dawn in an apologetic tone as they shook hands.

"That's ok, Dawn. Oh, I was wondering if I could join you guys' again." said Misty as she was surprising the others.

The three guys were in shock at what she just said because that was the last thing that they thought that she would say.

"But what about the gym back in Cerulean?" asked Ash as he was worried about the gym.

"Oh, I let my sisters control the gym for awhile before I came, so I told them that I was going to take a long a vacation." answered Misty as she was happy to get away from her sisters.

While the three guys were still in shock and Dawn was unable to say anything to a gym leader, Cynthia spoke up just before Misty was about to leave.

"Sure. You can join us, Misty." said Cynthia as she was looking at Misty.

The four of them looked at her and shook their heads as Misty looked over at them.

"Then let's go!" said Misty as she was excited to travel again after being stuck in the gym for so long.

After meeting up with Misty, our heroes, now including Misty, continue on their way to Pastoria City, but they are in for a big shocker when they meet up with someone.

(Since Team Rocket's just getting boring and annoying, I think we'll skip on them this chapter, but I promise that I will include them in the next chapter or two.)

* * *

Continuing on their way to Pastoria City still, our heroes, now including Misty, run into a rival that Ash hates the most, Paul, on the trail that leads to Pastoria City.

"I can't believe that I ran into you losers again." said Paul as he gave out his usually unfriendly stare and in the usual tone too.

"Stop calling us losers, Paul!" said Ash as he was starting to get angry, but Dawn and Misty came to his rescue so that the King wouldn't take over now.

"Cool it down, Ash, and if I remember correctly, you lost to Ash the last time that you two battled." said Dawn as Ash was starting to be pulled away by Misty a little.

"I'm over it now." said Paul as he was just about to leave when he had something else to say to them.

"And besides, I never found out what happened to your voice in the battle, Ash." said Paul as he was leaving.

Ash stopped him from leaving by saying something that interested Paul and had Misty raising her eyebrows when she heard that Ash's voice had changed in battle. She remembered what he was like and how his voice never changed in battle so she was interested in what they were talking about.

"Oh, that. It was nothing, but another side of me that never comes out." said Ash as he was making both Paul and Misty confused about what he was talking about, but Paul didn't show it.

"Ok, whatever. I challenge you to a two-on-two battle." said Paul as he stopped leaving because he was interested in what Ash had to say.

As usual Ash didn't take too long to answer Paul.

"I accept, Paul." said Ash.

"I'll be the referee." said Brock as they were heading into a small clearing that had a few rocks here and there that was close to the trail.

_(On The Battlefield)_

Ash and Paul tool their battle positions on each end of the battlefield and waited for the signal to start.

"This match between Ash and Paul is about to begin. Trainers ready?" asked Brock as he was looking between Ash, on his right, and Paul, on his left, as he stood in the middle of the battlefield on the sidelines.

"Yeah!" replied Ash and Paul in unison.

"Then let the match begin!"

"Gliscor, Stand By!"

"Go Buizel!"

_(Back With The Others)_

"What kind of pokemon is that?" asked Max as he had never saw a Gliscor before along with the others, except Cynthia of course.

"Let me see." said Dawn as she pulled out her Pokedex.

"_Gliscor, the dark-flying type pokemon. It is the evolved form of Gligar. It loves to attack people during the day and night."_ said the Pokedex.

"Well, Ash is gonna have a time with it." said Brock as he was looking at Gliscor with the others agreeing with him.

_(Back On The Battlefield)_

"Gliscor, Aerial Ace!"

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!"

They slammed into each other at an amazing speed, but Buizel received some damage from the attacks when they did that.

"Gliscor, Dark Punch!"

"Buizel, Sonic Boom!"

Again the two attacks slammed into each other with Buizel receiving some more damage as it was about to go down.

"Gliscor, Guillotine!"

"Buizel, Water Gun!"

This last contact between the attacks knocked Buizel out hard.

"Buizel is unable to battle. Gliscor's the winner!" said Brock as all of them were surprised at how powerful Gliscor was.

After Buizel was knocked out, Ash has a tough choice about who will battle next.

The question is: Who will it be?

* * *

Last time, Paul challenged Ash to a two-on-two match starting out with Gliscor battling Buizel.

Buizel was knocked out after only three attacks.

The next question is: Who will Ash choose next?

Let's find out!

"Go Chimchar!"

"Ursaring, Stand By!"

_(Back With The Others)_

"Why did Ash choose Chimchar?"asked Cynthia as she was curious to why he would do that.

"Ash chose Chimchar to battle against Ursaring to show how strong Chimchar has gotten since it left Paul's team." replied Brock as they were looking at the match-up.

_(Back On The Battlefield)_

"Chimchar, Flamethrower!"

"Ursaring, Hammerarm!"

The Hammerarm sliced through the Flamethrower and hit Chimchar hard.

"Chimchar, Flame Wheel!"

"Ursaring, Focus Blast!"

The attacks hit each other, but causing Chimchar damage in the process, along with a giant smoke cloud and in it, the King possessed Ash's body again. Pikachu could feel his aura again and it was happy that it wasn't in battle because it would be releasing some pretty powerful attacks. Then, it started to worry about Chimchar because of the way that the King handled all kinds of pokemon.

"Chimchar, Dig!"

"Urasring, Secret Power!"

Ursaring grabbed Chimchar when it came up and used Secret Power at close range.

Misty was surprised that Ash's voice changed, but since she couldn't see the aura around Ash, she didn't know what happened. She asked Brock what was happening with Ash and he told her about the whole thing.

"Ursaring, Head Butt!"

Again, Chimchar took it at close range, sending it flying back and piling rocks on top of it.

"Chimchar, get up!" yelled the King angrily.

Chimchar came out, but in a fiery rage.

Chimchar's tail was lit like a Fire Blast attack.

Chimchar was releasing Flamethrowers like crazy and almost hitting the King with one as it was standing on a rock.

_(In The King's Mind)_

"Look at what you've made Chimchar do, King." said Ash in the King's mind.

"Oh and you think that you could do better at handling Chimchar?" asked the King as he was starting to get annoyed at Ash.

"Yes I do." answered Ash as she was starting to get angry at the King.

"Then, you can have your body back." said the King as he was leaving Ash's body.

_(Back In The Real World)_

"Chimchar, calm down!" yelled Ash as he was getting a hold of Chimchar.

Ash grabbed Chimchar off of the rock that it was on, and held it tight in his arms, trying to clam it down from the rage.

Chimchar was struggling to get free, when it bit Ash on his right shoulder hard. He winced a little because of the pain, but he didn't let go of Chimchar.

"Chimchar, snap out of it!" yelled Ash as he was trying one last attempt at getting Chimchar to calm down.

Chimchar snapped out of it and was surprised to see Ash holding it.

"Are you ok, Chimchar?" asked Ash as he let go of Chimchar.

Chimchar shook its head 'Yes'.

"I'll be seeing you losers later." said Paul as he was leaving for real.

As soon as Paul was out of sight, Ash fell to his knees almost unconscious.

"7… down…and… 13…times…to…go." said Ash as he fell unconscious.

The others looked between them and they knew that it was a tough battle between Ash and the King, but they knew that the King won this time.

After our heroes encountered Paul and Ash battling him with the King coming back too, they are only a half a day's walk to Pastoria City.

* * *

**I hope that you liked this chapter because the next one will take me a little while before I'm able to post Chapter 10. School is getting crazy and I'm going to try and get the next Chapter going as fast as I can.**


	10. The Biggest Croagunk Festival Ever!

**Chapter 10: The Biggest Croagunk Festival Ever!**

As our heroes enter Pastoria City, they see a lot of Croagunk hanging around. They were all over as people had kept one for themselves and let the wild Croagunks walk around the city without even a care about that.

"What's with all of the Croagunks?" asked Ash as he was curious about all of the Croagunk.

"You don't know about the Croagunk Festival, do you?" asked Dawn as she was making a question of her own.

"No, Dawn. I don't." replied Ash which earned him a giggle from Misty as she thought that it was funny.

"Let me explain. Every year at this time, the people who live here celebrate the Croagunk around here by seeing who the strongest Croagunk of the Marsh." explained Dawn as she was looking at all of the Croagunks.

It didn't take too long to sink in for everybody, especially Brock, who had an idea.

"Well, that's for me! Let's go Croagunk!" said Brock as he was releasing Croagunk from its pokeball.

Brock and Croagunk, who was clueless to what Brock was up to, were starting to walk away until Misty stopped them in their tracks.

"What are you gonna do, Brock?" asked Misty as she made them spin on their heels to look at her and the rest of the gang and Brock had big smile when he did that.

"I'm gonna find Nurse Joy and see if she would like to go out on a date. Let's go Croagunk!" replied Brock as he finally gave Croagunk the idea of what was going on and as he was starting to walk away.

Croagunk finally couldn't stand it anymore so it gave Brock a Poison Jab like always so that he could stop while he was ahead.

"Aaaahh! What… was… that…for?!" asked Brock as he was falling onto the ground from the Poison Jab.

"Does that happen a lot?" asked Max and Misty in unison as Brock was pulled away by Croagunk.

Ash and Dawn looked at each other before responding as they had to figure it out.

"At least we don't have to do it." replied Ash and Dawn in unison.

"Well, shouldn't we go and watch the battles?" asked Cynthia as she was trying to get them off of the subject, but it didn't work.

"Anything you want, Cynthia." said Brock as he was getting right back on his feet.

"How does he do it?" asked Max as he was surprised at how fast Brock could recover.

"There's still no answer for that question." replied Ash as he was half-smiling as he was thinking about all of the times that Croagunk did that to Brock.

_(At The Croagunk Festival Battlefield)_

When they got there, Brock signed up to battle with Croagunk for the prize of a crown that was gold with a pearl on it.

Brock and Croagunk won all of their matches and made it all of the way into finals, which the others were surprised at since all of the Croagunk were strong.

Brock and Croagunk were going up against Nurse Joy and her Croagunk for the Croagunk Festival winner's crown.

Let's check on Team Rocket to see what their doing.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"I can't believe that the biggest twerp is in the finals for this stupid Croagunk Festival." said Jessie in disbelief as they were watching the battles from the other side of the battlefield so that the gang wouldn't see them.

"I wish that we could enter that Festival's contest." said James in a sad tone as he was thinking about how they could win the crown for the boss.

"Well, let's see what the biggest twerp is made of." said Meowth as it was enjoying itself with a box of popcorn.

Let's check back in with the gang.

_(Back With The Gang)_

The question that stands on everyone's mind is this: Who will win the Croagunk Festival?

* * *

Last time, Brock entered Croagunk in the Croagunk Festival Competition and made it all of the way to the finals to face Nurse Joy's Croagunk for the crown.

Which Croagunk will win the crown?

Let's find out!

_(On The Battlefield)_

"This final match between Brock and Nurse Joy is about to begin. Trainers, let out your Croagunks and begin!" announced the judge, who was a guy, to start the battle.

"Let's Go Croagunk!" said Brock.

"Go Croagunk!" said Nurse Joy.

"Croagunk, Poison Sting!"

"Croagunk, Poison Sting too!"

The Poison Stings cancelled each other out on the middle of the battlefield.

"Croagunk, Poison Jab!"

"Crogunk, Poison Jab as well!"

Again, the attacks cancelled each other out, but Brock's Croagunk received some damage from it.

"Croagunk, Brick-Break!"

"Croagunk, Cross Chop!"

Nurse Joy's Croagunk hit first, sending Brock's Croagunk flying back, almost hitting the wall. It received a lot of damage, but it wasn't out just yet.

"Croagunk, Brick-Break again!"

"Croagunk, Sludge Bomb!"

The Sludge Bomb hit first, knocking Brock's Croagunk out.

"Brock's Croagunk is unable to battle. Burse Joy's Croagunk's the winner and Nurse Joy wins the Croagunk Festival Competition!" said the judge.

The crowd applauded wildly for Nurse Joy's great performance.

"And here to present the trophy is our very own gym leader, Crasher Wake!" said the judge as a man that was about 7 foot with a lot of muscles and only pants on came out of the crowd to present the crown to Nurse Joy.

_(Back With The Rest Of The Gang)_

"So that's the gym leader. Great!" said Ash excitedly as he was thinking about his gym battle tomorrow.

"Yeah and he's pretty tough too." said Cynthia as she was looking at Ash.

"Cynthia, what kind of pokemon does Crasher Wake use?" asked Max curiously before Ash could.

"Well, he's a great water-type trainer, so he uses a Gyarados, a Quagsire, and a Floatzel." answered Cynthia as she was looking at Max. Misty was happy to hear that and she was thinking that maybe she could get some battle ideas from him, but she knew that wouldn't happen when Ash was around.

"A Floatzel? Let me check it out." said Ash as he pulled out his Pokedex.

"_Floatzel, the water ferret pokemon. It is the evolved form of Buizel. It loves to swim in rivers and lakes."_ said the Pokedex as it showed a picture of it on the screen.

"Cool. So that's what Buizel evolves into." said Ash happily as he was thinking about his Buizel.

Let's check back in with Team Rocket.

_(Back With Team Rocket)_

"I can't believe that the biggest twerp lost to Nurse Joy like that." said Meowth as they were leaving the battlefield.

"Well, think about it this way, we have all the time in the world before we try to get Pikachu again." said James happily as he was trying to cheer them up.

"I guess you're right. Let's start planning on how to get Pikachu." said Jessie happily as well.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After the Croagunk Festival was over, our heroes stay the night at the Pokemon Center and in the morning, Ash will challenge Crasher Wake to a gym battle for the Fen Badge.

* * *

With the Croagunk Festival over, our heroes are running over to the Pastoria City gym for Ash's battle.

"Ash, wait up! I can't believe that he's still like this." said Misty as she remembered when she was traveling with him before.

"Hurry up or you'll miss my gym battle with Crasher Wake!" yelled Ash as he was waiting for them at the entrance to the gym.

"Boy, is he psyched or what?" asked Dawn as they were catching up to Ash.

"Or what would be correct for him." answered Max as he thought about what Ash was like while traveling through the Hoenn and Kanto Regions.

_(At The Pastoria City Gym)_

Once they got into the gym and found Crasher Wake talking to his referee, who was a boy, about the last battle that he had when he saw them and talked to Cynthia for a little while before Ash challenged Crasher Wake to a battle and he accepted it.

_(On The Battlefield)_

They took their battle positions at each end of the battlefield, which was a giant pool with a few platforms in it for pokemon that weren't water-types.

"This match between Crasher Wake, the gym leader, and the challenger, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, is about to begin. Trainers ready?" asked the referee as he stood in the middle of the battlefield on the side.

"Yeah!" answered both trainers in unison.

"Then let the match begin!" said the referee as he gave the signal to start.

"Go Gyarados!"

"Let's Go Pikachu!"

"Gyarados, Water Gun!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

The Water Gun was charged by the Thunderbolt, shocking it, but it wasn't out just yet.

"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!"

"Pikachu, Dodge by using Quick Attack followed by Iron Tail!"

Pikachu hit Gyarados hard enough to knock it out as it dodged the Hyper Beam.

"Gyarados is unable to battle. Pikachu's the winner!"

"Go Quagsire! Quagsire, Earthquake followed by Water Pulse!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt followed by Volt Tackle!"

Quagsire's Water Pulse hit first after making the battlefield unstable with the Earthquake, knocking Pikachu out quickly.

"Pikachu's unable to battle. Quagsire's the winner!"

"Good job, Pikachu. Take a good rest. Go Turtwig!"

"Quagsire, Water Gun!"

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!"

The Razor Leaf sliced through the Water Gun at an amazing speed as it stopped the attack.

"Quagsire, Hydro Pump!"

"Turtwig, Energy Ball!"

The attacks collided in mid-air and it made a smoke cloud to cover the battlefield.

_(With The Others)_

"We might be looking at a draw." said Cynthia as they were looking at the smoke cloud.

"I agree with you, Cynthia." said Brock with the others waiting to see if they were right.

_(Back On The Battlefield)_

"Quagsire!" yelled Crasher Wake as the smoke cloud was starting to clear.

"Turtwig, no!" yelled Ash.

Once the smoke cloud cleared, both Quagsire and Turtwig were knocked out.

"Both Quagsire and Turtwig are unable to battle. It's a draw!" said the referee.

"Go Floatzel!"

"Go Buizel!"

After losing two out of three pokemon, it's water versus water, but who will win?

* * *

Last time, Ash was battling for the Fen Badge and with Pikachu and Turtwig knocked out, Ash and Buizel will have a tough last round with Crasher Wake and his Floatzel, but will Ash win the Fen Badge?

Let's find out!

_(Back With The Rest Of The Gang)_

"So it's Floatzel versus Buizel. This should be interesting." said Brock with the others agreeing with him.

_(Back On The Battlefield)_

"Floatzel, Water Gun!"

"Buizel, Water Gun as well!"

The Water Guns collided in mid-air, but Floatzel's Water Gun pushed Buizel's back and hit Buizel in the face.

"Floatzel, Aqua Jet!"

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!"

Again, they collided in mid-air in the middle of the battlefield.

"Floatzel, Hydro Pump!"

"Buizel, Sonic Boom!"

The Sonic Boom sliced through the Hydro Pump and it hit Floatzel hard, but not hard enough because it was still standing.

"Floatzel, Water Pulse!"

"Buizel, Aqua Jet through the Water Pulse and use Sonic Boom along with Water Gun!"

Just as Floatzel released the Water Pulse, Buizel charged through it, but it was a Water Pulse instead of an Aqua Jet, to get rid of it. This surprised Ash, but he was happy that Buizel learned Water Pulse.

Then, Buizel used Sonic Boom followed by Water Gun to knock out Floatzel.

"Floatzel is unable to battle. Buizel's the winner! The winner of the match is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

"Alright, Buizel, we did it!" said Ash as he congratulated Buizel.

"Congratulations, Ash, and to prove your win at the Pastoria Gym, I give you the Fen Badge." said Crasher Wake as he gave Ash the Fen Badge.

"Thanks, Crasher Wake. Alright, we got the Fen Badge!" said Ash as he did his usual pose.

"Now onto Hearthome City for the next gym, but first, we'll go to the Ruins for my research tomorrow." said Cynthia as they were leaving the gym.

"Then, let's get going!" said Ash excitedly with the others wondering what it would take to clam him down and then, they shivered a little as they thought about the one person that could do it: the King.

_(Over At The Pastoria Ruins)_

"We finally have the next piece of the puzzle. Let's move out and start heading towards Hearthome City for the next piece that we need for the puzzle." said Saturn as he was leaving with the piece of the puzzle in his right hand.

"Yes, sir!" said the two grunts as they were following him.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After beating Crasher Wake for the Fen Badge and Team Galactic took their next piece of the puzzle, our heroes head back to Hearthome City once again for Ash's gym battle after they get done at the Pastoria Ruins.

* * *

Before our heroes left Pastoria City for Hearthome City, Cynthia wanted to do some research at the Pastoria Ruins that she mentioned the day before.

"Do you mind if we stop for my research?" asked Cynthia curiously to Ash.

"Sure, Cynthia. Hey, we could help you if you want." replied Ash happily.

"That would be great! Thanks!" said Cynthia gratefully as she left to do her research with the others following her.

"Ash, I thought that she was the Sinnoh Champion?" asked Max curiously.

"She is, but she likes to research when the Sinnoh League isn't going on." answered Ash.

_(At The Pastoria Ruins)_

Once they got to the Ruins, they started to research with Cynthia about the Unown, but what they don't know is that Team Rocket's in disguise at the Ruins.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"I can't believe that your disguise idea really works, Meowth." said James as he was a little shocked at how well Meowth's plans worked better than Jessie's.

"Keep it down unless you want the twerps to find us." said Jessie as she shot him a dirty look to shut him up.

"Then, let's get this plan underway." said Meowth as they were walking over to the gang.

_(Back With The Gang)_

Just as the gang finished helping Cynthia with her research, a disguised Team Rocket appears right in front of them.

"Hello, we are the Ruin Police and we're here to protect the ruins from bad pokemon and criminals. (I hope their talking about themselves with the 'criminals' part!) Oh wait, you can't have that Pikachu here because it might destroy the Ruins." said Jessie as she was putting the plan into action.

"But Pikachu's as harmless as a Caterpie." said Ash as he was defending Pikachu.

"Well, we'll have to take Pikachu anyway." said James as he threw a net over Pikachu and held it up in his right hand.

"Wait, you can't take Pikachu!" yelled Ash as he was surprised that they would do that Pikachu.

"You want to bet, twerp." said Meowth as they removed their disguises.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail to break through the net!" said Ash as he thought of an idea.

Pikachu cut through the net like it was paper using Iron Tail and it jumped at Ash as it was happy to see him like usual.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" said Ash as he looked at Team Rocket.

Pikachu jumped out of his arms and shocked them away as they were saying the usual: "Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

After that Team Rocket crisis at the Ruins, our heroes continue on their way to Hearthome City.

* * *

**Here's Chapter 10 for your entertainment. At home with nothing better to do and it's a school day too. Yeah! You don't really want to know what I did. I hope you liked this chapter because the next chapter will be better and hopefully posted soon!**


	11. Another Dream With The King!

**Chapter 11: Another Dream With The King!**

Still on their way to Hearthome City, our heroes stop for dinner and the night in a little spot in the trail that was surrounded by trees since it was getting dark.

Everyone was dreaming about their goals, like Misty dreaming about becoming a Water Pokemon Master and Max dreaming about what pokemon he'll choose when he's old enough to get one and go on a journey by himself.

So everyone was having great dream dreams.

Well, except for one certain boy whose dreams are being invaded by an evil spirit every now and again, which are almost every night.

_(In Ash's Dream)_

Ash was now having a full nightmare scare unlike before where it was either small or half.

He was dreaming about what the King would do when he got rid of Ash's spirit.

The world was destroyed and covered in darkness and the King was commanding the pokemon to destroy the Ruin that his chamber was in, including the Stone Pokeball, which Ash's spirit was inside of.

When the King turned around, Ash, in his spiritual dream body, saw the King laughing as the pokemon killed all of Ash's friends and family.

Ash couldn't believe his eyes when the King did that. He was shaking his head 'No' as he didn't want to believe that the King would do that, but you never know what that guy will do.

He wanted to go and punch the King out, but he remembered that it was just a dream.

No, he realized, it's not a dream, it's a nightmare.

_(Back In The Real World)_

"Ash, is that you?" asked Misty as she was starting to wake up. She had been fast asleep when she heard something close by that sounded like they were in pain and she wasn't sure what or who it was that made that sound.

"What's wrong, Misty?" asked Max as he was slowly waking up.

"I thought I heard something and I thought that it was Ash." replied Misty as she was looking over at him as he was tossing and turning a lot.

"Wait, Misty. Did you say that you heard something and it might be Ash?" asked Dawn as she was looking the way that Misty was.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" asked Misty as she was making her own question as she was looking at the others now.

"Because this happened to Ash a couple of times before now. Let's try to wake him up again." replied Brock as they were going over to try to wake Ash up and make him stop tossing and turning.

_(Back In Ash's Dream)_

Just before the nightmare ended, the King showed up to tell Ash a little more about what's going to happen next.

"What are you doing here again?" asked Ash as he let his anger get the best of him.

"I wanted to tell you that when you get to halfway, you'll start to see what I'm going to do for real." replied the King as he stopped Ash's anger, which was replaced with confusion and in a devious voice.

"What the heck are you talking about, King?" asked Ash as he was looking at the King with a confused look on his face.

"You'll see after 2 more times." replied the King as he was fading into the darkness.

"Stop!" yelled Ash, but it was too late.

The King was gone because Ash was waking up thanks to the others, of course.

_(Back In The Real World)_

"Hey, I have an idea. Go Piplup! Piplup, Bubblebeam to wake Ash up again!" said Dawn as she thought of how they woke him up before.

When Ash woke up, he let out a scream and was visibly sweating because of the recent nightmare.

"Ash, are you ok? You've been tossing and turning along with sweating all at the same time for 20 minutes." asked Misty as she was concerned about what was going on with him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a nightmare that's all, guys. Hahahahaha." answered Ash in a nervous tone as he tried to laugh it off.

After that freaky nightmare, our heroes continue on their way to Hearthome City.

* * *

Only a couple of hours from Hearthome City, our heroes are helping Ash train for his next gym battle in a small clearing by the trail.

Cynthia, Misty, Dawn, and Brock were battling again Ash's Buizel, Chimchar, Turtwig, Staravia, and Pikachu all at once with Max sitting on the sidelines when all of a sudden, Hunter J and her Salamence came by and froze all of Cynthia's pokemon so that her goons could grab them to sell.

"Hunter J, give Cynthia her pokemon back right now!" yelled Dawn as they were all looking at J as she was standing on Salamence as it was just flying in the air in one spot.

"You think that I would give up the most valuable pokemon in all of Sinnoh! Yeah right! Salamence, Hyper Beam!" said Hunter J as she was getting mad at the gang.

As soon as the Hyper Beam was released and Ash dodged it, along with the gang, he was possessed by the King.

"Hunter J, you're not going to get away with this! Pikachu, maximum Thunderbolt, Buizel maximum Water Gun, Turtwig, maximum Energy Ball, Staravia, maximum Aerial Ace, and Chimchar, maximum Flamethrower all at once!" said the King as his anger was getting the best of him.

Their attacks hit Salamence hard enough to knock it out, but Hunter J jumped off before the attacks hit Salamence.

"You're a tough kid to challenge me, but your end is near. Go Drapion! Drapion, Cross-Poison!" said Hunter J as she was letting her anger get the best of her judgment. (Like she ever had one in the first place!)

"Ash, look out!" yelled the whole gang as a few of them didn't want the same thing to happen to him again.

The King dodged it quickly and ordered Pikachu to use a maximum Volt Tackle as he left Ash's body.

J was defeated since Drapion was knocked out cold and she was actually scared of the King and she left all of Cynthia's pokemon behind.

Ash didn't fall unconscious yet because he was helping to get the pokemon out.

"I can't believe that J did that to you." said Dawn in disbelief of what J did.

"I know it's hard to believe, Cynthia, but they're usually after Pikachu." said Misty as she was thinking about all of the people that tried to steal Pikachu from Ash.

"Yeah. I agree with you, Misty." said Max as he remembered a few people while he was traveling with Ash before now.

Just as Max had finished saying that, they heard a loud thud that came from behind.

They turned around to find Ash on the ground, lying on his stomach, unconscious.

Let's check in with Team Rocket.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"Wow, that twerp's amazing." said James as he was in shock of what just happened.

They were hiding behind a couple of bushes that were close to where the gang had faced off with Hunter J just a few minutes ago.

"I agree with you, James. I thought that I was watching a TV show, but it was for real." said Jessie as she was also in shock.

"Let's head on over to the Hearthome Ruins to see what we can steal." said Meowth as it was leaving for the hot air balloon that was close by.

"Right." said Jessie and James in unison as they followed Meowth to the balloon.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After a good night's sleep and an hour's walk in the morning, our heroes are about to enter Hearthome City.

* * *

After running into Hunter J again, our heroes are right in front of the Hearthome gym. (You remembered what the gym looked like in the show? Well, it's the same for this story along with Fantina.)

"I'm so ready for this!" yelled Ash excitedly as he made the others jump from being around him.

"Ash, keep your big mouth shut, will ya?" asked Misty sarcastically as she was hoping that he wasn't the same Ash as she remembered him.

"Well, sorry. I didn't know that I bothered you sooo much as you bothered meee." replied Ash sarcastically which probably wasn't the best idea.

Misty wasn't about to let Ash say that and get away with it.

"Take the back, Ash Ketchum!" yelled Misty as her fist tightened as she was thinking about punching him, but decided that it wasn't such a good idea with the King inside of him.

She grabbed Ash jacket instead and shook him and then, let him fall to the ground on his face.

"Wow! I can't believe what she does to him." said Cynthia as they were watching the whole thing.

"Mmm Hmm." said Max as he was agreeing with Cynthia.

"I got a lot to learn about how to deal with Ash when he gets stupid." said Dawn as she was looking between Ash and Misty.

"Well, she's been traveling with Ash and I longer too." said Brock as he was shocked that Misty did that too.

After that little fight between Ash and Misty, they entered the gym to find its gym leader after a little while of searching for her.

_(Inside The Hearthome Gym)_

They finally found the gym leader, Fantina, after looking for her for 10 minutes.

"Hi, Fantina. How are you?" asked Cynthia.

"I'm fine and you?" asked Fantina as she was making her own question and without an French accent too.

"I'm fine, and before you ask, 'What am I doing here', I'm actually here for my research and my friend Ash's gym battle." replied Cynthia.

"Ok, Cynthia. I understand." said Fantina happily.

"Fantina, would you be able to battle me?" asked Ash.

"Sure, let's head on over to the battlefield." replied Fantina as she was leading them to the battlefield.

_(On The Battlefield)_

Once they took their battle positions and the referee, who was a girl, came out and stood at the middle of the battlefield on the sidelines, the battle was about to begin.

"This match between Fantina, the gym leader, and the challenger, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, is about to begin! Are the trainers ready?" asked the referee.

"Yeah!" they answered in unison.

"Then let the match begin!" said the referee.

"Go Mismagius!"

"Go Turtwig!"

"Mismagius, Ominous Wind!"

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!"

The attacks collided in mid-air, but Mismagius got hit hard by the Razor Leaf.

"Mismagius, Taunt!"

"Turtwig, Energy Ball!"

The Energy Ball hit first, knocking Mismagius out with only two attacks.

"Mismagius is unable to battle. Turtwig's the winner!"

"Go Gengar! Gengar, Shadow Ball!"

"Turtwig, Energy Ball!"

The attacks collided again, but Turtwig was knocked out hard.

"Turtwig's unable to battle. Gengar's the winner!"

"Go Chimchar!"

"Gengar, Shadow Ball!"

"Chimchar, Flamethrower!"

The Flamethrower pushed the Shadow Ball back and it hit Gengar, but it wasn't out just yet.

"Gengar, Sludge Bomb!"

"Chimchar, Flamethrower!"

The attacks hit both Chimchar and Gengar at the same time, knocking both of them out when they hit the walls behind Ash and Fantina.

"Chimchar and Gengar are both unable to battle. It's a draw!"

"Go Drifblim!"

"Go Pikachu!"

"Drifblim, Ominous Wind!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu shocked Drifblim hard, but it wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Drifblim, Shadow Ball!"

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

The Shadow Ball missed Pikachu, but the Volt Tackle hit Drifblim hard enough to knock it out.

"Drifblim's unable to battle. Pikachu's the winner and the match goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" said the referee.

"Good job, Drifblim. Return." said Fantina as she put Drifblim back into its pokeball.

"Great job, Pikachu. We won!" said Ash excitedly as Pikachu jumped into his arms.

"That was a great battle, Ash, and to show your win at the Hearthome City gym, I give you the Relic Badge." said Fantina as she was handing the Relic Badge to Ash.

"Alright! We got the Relic Badge!" said Ash as he did his usual pose.

"Now onto Canalave City for your next gym battle, but first, how about going to the Hearthome Ruins tomorrow?" asked Cynthia.

"Ok!" yelled the gang in unison.

After getting the Relic Badge, our heroes will stay in Hearthome City one more day for Cynthia's research at the Hearthome Ruins.

* * *

After a good night's sleep, our heroes stop at the Ruins to help Cynthia with her research.

"Hey Ash, Misty and I are going over to the Pokemon Center to help me get ready for the next contest." said Dawn with Misty on her right.

"Ok. We'll see you two later." said Ash as he was looking at the girls before they left.

While the rest of the gang was helping Cynthia with the research, Team Galactic was waiting for them to leave to try and get another Information Cube.

_(With Team Galactic)_

"How long will it be?" asked the girl grunt with the boy grunt agreeing with her.

"Not long now." replied Saturn as he was watching the gang very carefully. (That's kind of creepy knowing that someone's watching you like that. It just gives me the shivers!)

_(Back At The Pokemon Center)_

Just as Misty and Dawn entered the Pokemon Center after training hard for 15 minutes, the TV was on and it was announcing where the next pokemon contest will be.

"The next location for the next pokemon contest will be in Celestic Town. We'll see all of you there!" said Marian on the TV.

"Cool! We get to go back to Celestic Town. Woo Hoo!" said Dawn excitedly as she was looking at Misty.

"Then, let's tell the others." said Misty as she was looking at Dawn.

As Misty and Dawn are on their way to tell the others about the contest in Celestic Town, the rest of the gang had just finished helping Cynthia with her research.

_(Back With The Gang)_

Just as the gang gets back together and before Dawn and Misty could tell them about the next contest, they heard an explosion coming from the Ruins.

When they got there, they found out that it was Team Galactic again as they were trying to take the Information Cube again.

"Not them again." said Ash as he was running toward them.

"Stop Ash!" yelled the gang in unison as they were afraid of what could happen to him again.

"Go Toxicroak! Toxicroak, Brick-Break!" said Saturn as he released Toxicroak from its pokeball to take care of Ash.

"ASH!" yelled the gang in unison again as they were trying to get him to stop.

Ash stopped in his tracks when he saw Toxicroak coming at him full force and stood in shock when Toxicroak came at him.

It got closer and closer and when it was almost on top of him, it disappeared.

Ash looked left and right for a few seconds and when he was about to go after Team Galactic, thinking that it was safe, Toxicroak reappeared behind him and knocked him to the ground hard, unconscious.

"Ash! Well, that's it! Go Gyarados! Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" said Misty as she released it from its pokeball.

"Go Piplup and Buneary! Piplup, Bubblebeam and Buneary, Ice Beam!" said Dawn as she was doing the same thing as Misty was doing.

The attacks hit Toxicroak hard and knocked it out.

"Toxicroak, return. Come on, you two grunts. Let's get out of here!" said Saturn as he put Toxicroak in its pokeball and as he was leaving with the two grunts following him.

When Team Galactic left, the rest of the gang went to go and check up on Ash since he wasn't moving after taking the hit.

After examining him, Brock told the others what his condition was because they were worried about what happened to him and if he was hurt badly by Toxicroak. (If he's hurt badly or even dead, sue Team Galactic for all they have!)

"Well, it looks like he's got a slight concussion from the blow, but he'll be fine in the morning." said Brock as he was getting up from next to Ash. (I still say sue them for all they have because he could've been hurt even worse! If you agree with me, tell me either by message or review.)

Everyone was relieved to hear that Ash was going to be ok after the kind of hit that he received from Toxicroak, but Dawn remembered something very important.

"Oh yeah, after all of the excitement, I almost forgot to tell you that the next contest will be in Celestic Town." said Dawn as she was looking at Brock.

"Ok. So we'll go to Celestic Town first, and then, we'll go to Canalave City afterwards." said Brock as he was announcing their newly updated plan.

"Sounds good to us!" said the rest of the gang in unison as Ash was starting to wake up so that they could go to the Pokemon Center.

_(Back With Team Galactic)_

After the gang had left, with Ash waking up, Team Galactic went after the Information Cube Once again.

"We finally got it after having to deal with those kids again. Let's head over to Celestic Town for the next Information Cube and the piece of the puzzle." said Saturn as he was leaving with the grunts right behind him.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After another good night's sleep, our heroes continue on their way to Celestic Town and Canalave City.

* * *

**That was Chapter 11 for your viewing pleasure. Been having snow days back to back and that is how I'm able to bring Chapter 11 to you. Don't when Chapter 12 will be up, but I'll let you now via profile. Chapter 12 is where things will get extremly good and I hope that you'll like it as much as I do whenI get done typing it up. See ya!**


	12. Another Meet And Greet And Join!

**Chapter 12: Another Meet And Greet And Join!**

After running into Team Galactic at the Hearthome Ruins, our heroes continue on their way to Celestic Town and Canalave City when they run into two old pokemon friends that belong to two old friends in an open space that was surrounded by trees while they are on the trail.

"Hey, it's a Glaceon and a Bronzong!" said Misty excitedly as she pointed at them.

"How did you know that was a Bronzong?" asked Ash as he was surprised that she knew that.

"I've been here for a while now so I know what the pokemon are." replied Misty happily as Ash just rolled his eyes as he was thinking that she was getting pretty annoying like she used to be.

"Well, I'm gonna catch them! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" said Ash as he wanted to catch them.

Just as Thunderbolt was about to hit them, two voices commanded them from out of nowhere, which surprised the gang a little.

"Dodge!" said the two voices in unison.

"Glaceon, Ice Beam!" said one familiar voice.

"Bronzong, Gyro Ball!" said the other familiar voice.

The Ice Beam froze Pikachu into a 'Pika-cube' (That's just part of my sense of humor too! I've always wanted to say that!) and when Ash went to protect Pikachu, the Gyro Ball hit him hard in the back and he fell onto his hands and knees as a result of the impact on him.

"Who did that?!" said Ash in a little bit of pain.

"Ash? Is that you?" said the two voices in unison.

They were very familiar when they came out of the shadows of the forest.

It was May and the Elite Four member, Lucian.

"Hi May!" said Max excitedly as he ran over to his sister.

"Hi Lucian! How are you?" asked Dawn curiously as she was looking at May and Lucian.

"We're fine." replied May.

"So did you win the Johto Grand Festival?" asked Max curiously.

"I sure did and it wasn't easy either, trying to beat Solidad, but I won it in the end." replied May happily.

"Sorry about hitting you with Bronzong's Gyro Ball." said Lucian in an apologetic voice.

"That's ok. So what are you two doing here?" asked Ash as he was starting to get up from his sitting position as he kind of fell sideways once he fell onto his hands and knees.

"Well, we were trying to find you guys to see about joining up with you guys." answered May with a smile on her face.

"Why not. The more the merrier I always say." said Ash as he was thinking about how they could help him if he doesn't stop the King from taking over the world.

"Yeah!" yelled May excitedly with Max in unison.

"Thank you so much." said Lucian with a smile on his face.

"No problem, Lucian. We're on our way to Celestic Town for Dawn's contest and Canalave City for Ash's gym battle." said Cynthia.

"Then, let's hit the road!" said May and Max in unison again as they started back on their way.

Let's check on Team Rocket and see what they're doing.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"Are we almost there?" asked James and Meowth in unison.

They had been walking for days on their way to Celestic Town for Jessie's contest and James and Meowth were getting sick (Not really!) and tired of walking.

"Yes, and it's only as day's walk if we keep this up." replied Jessie happily as she was leading them.

"Oh yeah." said James and Meowth in unison and a sarcastic whisper too as they just followed behind her.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After running into May and Lucian, our heroes, now including May and Lucian, are only a day's walk to Celestic Town.

* * *

Almost to Celestic Town for Dawn's next contest, our heroes, now including May and Lucian, are about to get to Celestic Town a little sooner than expected.

They were walking on the trail that had a few houses up above which lead into Celestic Town as they left the forest part of the trail.

Ash was at the back of the line, with everyone ahead of him a little, when all of a sudden, he falls to his knees, grieving in pain.

The gang turned to where they heard a thud and they found Ash on the ground, clutching his stomach.

"What happened, Ash?" asked Brock as he was kneeling in front of Ash to see what happened.

"I don't know, but it hurts a lot." answered Ash in a lot of pain.

Brock started to give out orders to help Ash get as comfortable as possible with as much pain as he was in.

"Dawn, would you mind calling for an ambulance? Because we shouldn't move him if he's in a lot of pain." asked Brock as he was still in the same position as before while he was looking at Dawn.

"Ok, Brock. I'll be right back." said Dawn as she was leaving to find a phone.

"May, Misty, Cynthia, and Lucian, can you help me lie him down?" asked Brock as he was looking at them.

"Sure, Brock." answered the four of them in unison.

When they got Ash lying on his back, Dawn came back to tell them that the ambulance is on its way.

_(5 Minutes Later)_

The ambulance and Officer Jenny in a police car shows up and they put Ash gently on a stretcher to take him to the hospital.

Brock rode with Ash to give him some moral support while the others rode with Officer Jenny, including Pikachu.

_(At The Hospital)_

When they got to the hospital, one of the doctors started to ask them important questions as they were coming down the hall to go into a room in the emergency area.

"What happened to him?" asked the doctor as he was running beside the stretcher on the right with the others on the left.

"We don't know." they answered in unison as they entered a room.

"What's his name for our records?" asked the doctor as he was holding a chart to write the name of his patient as the paramedics put Ash onto a hospital bed. (Yes, the doctor is a guy because of how Brock is with all of the pretty ladies that he sees.)

The gang looked at each other to see who would tell the doctor Ash's name, but they decided that if no one in the group would than they would all tell him.

"Ash Ketchum." replied the gang in unison as they surprised each other when they said that and the doctor quickly took down the name.

The doctor told his staff to take Ash to the X-Ray room to get x-rays of his chest and stomach area.

While looking at the x-rays, the doctor found out that he had appendicitis. (That's where the appendix bursts and causes tons of pain for the person. The x-rays are super powered because they have been perfected over the years, in my mind that is.)

The doctor went out to the waiting room and told the gang about what he found on the x-rays and told them that he needed surgery to remove the ruptured appendix before it causes infection and the surgery would last 1 hour.

"How much will all of this be?" asked Brock as he was thinking about the price of this surgery.

"It's all free so don't worry about that. We'll take good care of Ash." answered the doctor as he got up to leave.

After telling the gang what he found, the doctor is getting ready to operate on Ash.

_(During The Surgery-With The Gang)_

The gang remembered all of the brave and sometimes foolish stuff that Ash did for all of them, but what's happening in the operating room, the gang won't know until the doctor gets out.

_(In The Operating Room)_

When the doctor was operating on Ash, Ash's mind was somewhere where it shouldn't have been at all.

_(In Ash's Dream)_

Ash was dreaming about how the world would be after the King got rid of Ash's spirit.

After that nightmare was over with, the King came out from the darkness to tell Ash something and to scare him a little. (In other words for the King doing this, a lot of scaring for Ash!)

"What are you doing here, King?" asked Ash as he crossed his arms as he was starting to get annoyed by the King for always dropping into his dreams.

"I wanted to see how you're holding up after 9 times." replied the King evilly as he was looking at Ash, who had a confused look on his face.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ahs as he uncrossed his arms as he remembered that he only had 8, not 9 times of the King possessing his body unless he was going to possess Ash soon.

"By this!" said the King as he was casting a spell and throwing it at Ash.

Ash couldn't dodge it fast enough and he was paralyzed for it in his tracks.

The King sent out another spell and this time, Ash was in major pain instead of being paralyzed because he fell to the floor as he was gasping and moaning from the intense pain that he was feeling.

_(Back In The Operating Room)_

While all this was happening to Ash, the doctor had just gotten done with the surgery, when all of a sudden, Ash started to crash.

"Huh? Nurse, bring in the defibrillator. Hurry!" said the doctor as he took the paper off of Ash's chest and prepped it for the defibrillator to shock him back to life.

The nurse brought the defibrillator in as fast as she could to help save Ash.

The doctor started to shock Ash back to life which led to his body jumping a little from the volts that jolted through it.

_(Back In Ash's Mind)_

"Why are you doing this to me?!" asked Ash in a lot of pain.

"Because I wanted to see how strong you are against pain." replied the King evilly again with an evil smile on his face.

As the King was saying that, he stopped the pain spell just in time because Ash couldn't stand it for another minute as he felt like he was about to faint from it because it was that intense for him.

"I'll see you soon, Ash." said the King as he was leaving.

"Stop!" yelled Ash as he was getting up off the ground, but he was being dragged back into his body again.

_(Back In The Operating Room)_

Just as the King left Ash's mind, Ash's vital signs went back to normal and the doctor was smiling behind his surgical mask as he was looking at how Ash's vital signs went back just like that after only a couple of shocks.

"That's a relief. Take him into the recovery room for 2 hours." said the doctor as he was leaving to tell the gang how the surgery went.

_(Back With The Gang)_

The doctor had just come out to tell them about how the surgery went for Ash.

"Everything went well with the surgery, but as we were finishing up, Ash started to crash. We were able to get him stabilized after 2 minutes. Now, he's in the recovery room for 2 hours before we send him to a room for the night. I'll come in and check on him in the morning to see how he's doing. Here's his room number that he will be in. Bye." said the doctor as he was handing Brock a piece of paper that had Ash's room number on it before he left them.

_(2 Hours Later)_

After waiting 2 hours, the gang went to find Ash's room.

As they were entering his room, Ash was just waking up from the anesthesia as Pikachu was jumping up to get to Ash.

Then Brock explained to Ash what happened, which Ash was in shock about, and that the doctor will some in to check on him in the morning.

"I wonder how that happened?" asked Ash as he came out of his shocked state.

"Well, between stress with the King trying to take over the world and getting hit by Bronzong's Gyro Ball yesterday, take your pick." said Brock as he was trying to make Ash think that it was the King that was causing him to do this.

After a good night's sleep, the doctor will let Ash know if he can leave yet or not.

* * *

After finding out that Ash had appendicitis and a good night's sleep, our heroes will find out if Ash will be released from the hospital.

Let's find out!

_(The Next Morning)_

The doctor came in to check on Ash, who was already awake.

The doctor took out all of the stitches, since Ash is a quick healer, and told Ash that he would put bandages all around Ash's stomach area.

"You can leave, but take it easy for about a week or so." said the doctor as he was about to leave to find the roll of bandages.

"Ok. I will. Thanks." said Ash as he was hanging tight until the doctor came back. (Oh yeah! Like he's going anywhere anytime soon. Sarcasm expected there.)

Once the bandages were put on, Ash went to change into his clothes in the bathroom, just in case someone came in while he was changing.

After he changed into his clothes, they left the hospital in a matter of minutes.

_(A Few Minutes Later)_

Team Rocket had come out of nowhere and tried to steal Pikachu again with a giant Pikachu grabbing robot disguised as James' Mime Jr.

"It's Pikachu stealing time!" yelled Team Rocket.

Meowth activated the vacuum to suck up Pikachu, but when they sucked Pikachu up, they also sucked Ash up too.

"Meowth, what are you doing?! Let the twerp out!" yelled Jessie as she saw this happen.

"Pikachu, try a Thunderbolt!" said Ash as he was trying to think of a way out of there.

Pikachu used Thunderbolt, but instead of shocking the robot, it was shocking Ash.

What Pikachu doesn't know is that the King had taken over Ash's body again, but it knew something was wrong with Ash.

"Pikachu, iron Tail!" said the King in pain.

"_What has this boy done to my future body?!"_ yelled the King in his mind through the pain that he was in.

Pikachu's Iron Tail cut the robot open, even though it knew that the King was back because it wanted Ash's body to be safe when the King left it, and the two of them jumped out, but the King fell to his knees in pain.

"Pikachu, maximum Thunderbolt!" said the King a she left Ash's body.

Pikachu's Thunderbolt shocked Team Rocket and said the usual: "Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

Ash didn't fall unconscious yet, but he was in major pain from everything that he had been through that day.

"Ash, are you ok?" asked Misty as she saw his face scrunch up with pain.

"No. I think that the wound is open." replied Ash as he was falling unconscious.

"Brock, did you hear that?" asked May as they were shocked at what Ash had been through the past three days.

"I sure did. Let me check it out." said Brock as he undid the bandages from around Ash's stomach.

Once Brock took a good look at the wound, he found that the wound was open.

"_Just like Ash thought happened."_ said Brock in his mind.

After taking care of Ash's wound, our heroes are gonna get a good night's sleep for tomorrow's contest.

* * *

The next day brought Dawn much closer to winning her fourth ribbon because today was the contest.

"Dawn, are you ready to get your fourth ribbon?" asked Ash as they were standing out on the balcony of the contest hall as they were leaning against the railing.

"Yeah, I am. How are you feeling today?" asked Dawn as she was looking at Ash, who was on her right.

"I'm feeling much better as long as I'm not doing any training with my pokemon." answered Ash somewhat sadly.

"Well, I guess I should get ready for the contest." said Dawn as she straighten up from leaning on the railing and started to head into the room.

"Ok. Oh, I saw Zoey registering for the contest earlier this morning." said Ash as he followed her into the room where she was getting her dress out of her backpack and walked over to the door to leave while she did that.

"Oh, great! More competition!" said Dawn sarcastically as she was getting her contest dress to change into as Ash was leaving since he knew that she needed her privacy.

Just as Dawn finished getting ready, the contest started.

_(At The Celestic Contest)_

Zoey started the appeal round using her Misdreavus and did a great job of showing it off as a ghost pokemon by using Double Team and Thundershock.

Dawn was sixth going into the appeal round.

_(Dawn's First Round Performance)_

She used Pachirisu for the appeal round.

Pachirisu started out with a Sweet Kiss and then, it used Spark to destroy the hearts beautifully.

_(Jessilina's First Round Performance)_

Jessilina used Seviper and did a so-so job by using Poison Sting and Poison Tail.

_(In The Trainer's Waiting Room)_

When Dawn met up with the gang, May and the rest of the gang started to give her a little advice on what pokemon to use in the second round.

"Here are the eight coordinators moving on!" said Marian as she pointed up to the screen that was right above her.

Zoey was second, Dawn was third, and Jessilina was fifth going into the second round.

"Good job, Dawn." said Ash with a smile on his face like usual.

"Thanks, Ash." said Dawn as she was looking at him.

"So have you chosen what pokemon you'll use?" asked Brock curiously.

"Yeah. I think that I'll use Buneary, since I haven't it used it for a while." replied Dawn.

"That's a really good idea, Dawn." said May.

"Now, let's see who's going to be battle who in the 2nd round." said Marian as she was pointing to the screen again.

Zoey was in the first battle, while Dawn was in the second battle and Jessilina was in the third battle.

Now that the battles are set, the next question is: Who will win the Celestic Town Contest?

* * *

Last time, the Celestic Town Contest was underway with Zoey, Dawn, and Jessilina making it through to the 2nd round.

Now with the battles set, who will win the Celestic Town Contest ribbon?

Let's find out!

_(Zoey's Contest Battle)_

Zoey started off the battles with Glameow and won the first battle with ease.

_(Dawn's Contest Battle)_

Dawn had a little trouble with Buneary, but won based on how many points were left after the clock ran out.

_(Jessilina's Contest Battle)_

Jessilina had a hard time winning the battle with Seviper, since she stuck with it, because it was going up against a fire-type.

_(The First Semi-Final Battle)_

Now Zoey was going up against Jessilina for the first semi-final match.

Zoey and Glameow beat Jessilina and Seviper again with an easy win since Jessilina has no clue how to show off Seviper in any way when she's in a contest battle.

_(The Second Semi-Final Battle)_

Dawn and Buneary again won how many points were left after the clock ran out because of how intense the battle was.

_(The Final Battle Of The Celestic Town Contest)_

"So now, it's Zoey on my right and Dawn on my left for the finals. 5 minutes on the clock and begin!" announced Marian excitedly.

"Glameow, Curtain!"

"Buneary, Spotlight!"

"Glameow, Secret Power!"

"Buneary, Ice Beam!"

The Ice Beam hit Glameow first and froze it into a Glam-cube. (I just love doing that to whatever pokemon gets frozen along with humans if they are too!)

"Glameow, Shadow Claw!"

"Buneary, Dizzy Punch!"

Both attacks hit each other, but Dizzy Punch hit it mark hard.

"Glameow, Iron Tail!"

"Buneary, use Bounce to dodge and attack!"

Buneary dodged the attack and hit Glameow numerous times with Bounce just like at the Jubilife Contest.

"Glameow, Shadow Claw!"

"Buneary, Ice Beam full power!"

The Ice Beam hit Glameow hard and knocked it out.

"Glameow is unable to battle. Buneary is the winner, so that means that Dawn's the winner!" announced Marian excitedly.

"Yeah! We did it, Buneary!" said Dawn excitedly as Zoey returned Glameow to its pokeball and walked away.

When they were up on the podium, Mr. Contesta came over to give her ribbon to her and to tell her something too.

"I hear this is your fourth ribbon, correct?" asked Mr. Contesta as he handed her ribbon to her.

"Yes, sir." replied Dawn as she took the ribbon from him.

_(Back With The Others)_

"Man, she's a lot better at contests then May here." said Max as he didn't realize that he said that out loud until he felt something hit him.

May hit Max in the head with her fist.

"What does that suppose to mean?!" yelled May, but not loud enough for everyone in the contest hall to hear her.

_(Back With Dawn And Buneary)_

"Alright! We got the Celestic ribbon!" said Dawn excitedly as she did her usual pose when she got a ribbon.

Once the contest was over, our heroes continue on their way to Canalave City for Ash's next gym battle.

* * *

**Here's Chapter 12 for your viewing pleasure! Made you think there for a minute that Ash was pregnant somehow didn't I? Well,if he was then it would have happened before this story had gotten started, now wouldn't it? Don't know how soon Chapter 13 will be up because I have a dance Feb. 19 and I don't know if I will be feeling like working on it over the weekend. If I do, I do. If I don't, I don't. Oh well. AshKetchumForever is outta here for now!**


	13. Team Rocket Returns With Back Up!

**Chapter 13: Team Rocket Returns With Back-Up!**

After leaving Celestic Town for Canalave City, our heroes are gonna face an army of a certain annoying team.

They stopped for lunch and to help Ash train for his next gym battle in a little spot off of the trail with trees surrounding it, making it a little secluded, when all of a sudden, Team Rocket showed up in a Carnivine machine and grabbed all of Ash's pokemon, including Pikachu.

"Team Rocket, give me back my pokemon!" yelled Ash in pain again as he realized what happened when he did that.

"What's the matter, Ash?" asked Misty, as she was going over by Ash, but she was stopped by Brock when he put his hand on her shoulder, May and Dawn in unison.

"It looks like when Ash yelled to Team Rocket, the wound's probably starting to open up again." replied Brock as he was looking at Ash's face as it was contorted into a pain look for a second and then, it contorted back into the look of anger.

"Minions, capture the twerps!" ordered Jessie as she gave them the order to capture the gang.

Eight Team Rocket minions captured the gang and started to take them to the robot when, Ash stopped and fell to his knees with the minion still holding him. (Don't ask about how Team Rocket got the minions because I just thought that it would be pretty cool to have some minions. There are 4 girls and 4 guys so there you go if you wanted to know.)

_(In Ash's Mind)_

"Sorry, Ash, but I'll take it from here." said the King as he was about to take over Ash's body again.

_(Back In The Real World)_

"Come on, you lousy kid. Get up!" said the minion, but Ash wasn't himself anymore because the King possessed him once again and no one could tell, except Pikachu, that Ash wasn't Ash anymore, but the King again.

Before the gang realized it, the King threw the minion, which was a guy, to get free, into the woods where they heard a thud a little ways away from where they were as they realized that the King was pretty strong and Ash was right about the King.

"Team Rocket, let go of the pokemon and his friends or I'll teach all of the minions not to mess with me." said the King as he was looking up at Team Rocket.

"I don't believe you, twerp." said Meowth in disbelief. (You shouldn't have done that, Meowth, but hey, it's your funeral that you're planning. Just kidding!)

Since Team Rocket didn't believe him, the King took another minion that was holding Max, and was another guy, and threw him in the same direction as the first one which was followed by another thud and yell of pain as the minion that was just thrown landing on top of the other minion.

"Now do you believe me?" asked the King as he was looking up at them as he saw scared looks on their faces.

"Ok, ok! We'll let go of your friends and the pokemon too." said Team Rocket in a scared tone as they were thinking that it was Ash doing all of this, not the King.

They released the pokemon and Ash's friends, which two of the minions went and got the other two before entering the Carnivine machine, but the King wasn't gonna let them go that easy.

"Ok, Pikachu, Thunderbolt them !" said the King as he was using one of Ash's phrases since he knew that Pikachu was exhausted from training with Ash.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" said Team Rocket as they were flying off like usual.

Once they were gone, the King left Ash's body and again, Ash didn't fall unconscious.

Since Celestic Town's very close to Canalave City, our heroes spend the night in the Pokemon Center, but as soon as Ash got to his room, he fell unconscious on his bed with Pikachu wondering about what's going on with Ash.

_(With The King In Ash's Mind)_

"It's time for you to start becoming my puppet, Ash." said the King as he was preparing to give Ash a nightmare that he wouldn't forget.

* * *

After getting into the Pokemon Center in Canalave City, our heroes are having sweet dreams about how to achieve their goals, but Ash on the other hand was having another nightmare.

_(In Ash's Nightmare)_

It was a continuation from the nightmare before about what the future would be like with the King back in the world in Ash's mind, that is.

To sort of save him from the nightmare, the King came to tell Ash some more important information about what's going to be happening next.

"What are you doing here again?" asked Ash as he was starting to get annoyed by the King always doing this to him.

"Since you're at halfway, I can go on ahead and reveal why I was wearing this same robe 200 million years ago." replied the King evilly as he was starting to give Ash goose bumps all over his body, but he quickly dismissed them.

"What is it? Probably something really weird, King." asked Ash as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"It's not and it's going to be this." replied the King as he rolled up his sleeves and pulled down his collar to reveal tattoos all over his arms and neck except his hands, feet , and head.

Ash was in shock when he saw this that he uncrossed his arms and let them fall to his sides with slack in them.

"What's all of this, King?" asked Ash as he was forcing himself to talk despite being in shock about the information about the King.

"This is the ancient mark of the City of Pokelantis and in order for me to take over the world, the mark has to be on your body before I take over the world." replied the King as he unrolled his sleeves and put his collar in the same place as before.

"But I don't see it anywhere, King." said Ash as he was kind of happy about that.

"Give it a minute." said the King as he was scaring Ash a little bit.

The King started o say a spell as he walked over to Ash and placed his hand over Ash's head and started to finish up the spell that he knew would work.

When the King got done with the spell, the King was happy because he knew that he had just came closer to ruling the world and he showed it with a smile that was both devious and happy.

"Ash, open your jacket, and lift up your shirt. The spell should have worked by now." said the King happily about his plan coming into play.

Ash did what the King told him to, since he didn't truly believe him, and when he lifted his shirt, he saw a tattoo with a circle on it with spikes in a circular motion to the left, if you were looking at it as you were facing Ash, sticking out of it.

"No, it can't be. No!" screamed Ash as he woke himself up from the nightmare as he fell to his knees, clutching his stomach as he was starting to feel a little sick of all of this happening to him.

_(Back In The Real World)_

Ash was sweating heavily when he got up to see if the tattoo was still there and it was, making him believe that the dream was real instead of fake.

"So it wasn't a dream after all, it was for real." said Ash as he was still looking at the tattoo that was placed on his stomach.

_(With May In Her Room)_

"What was that?" asked May to herself as she heard a scream from inside the Pokemon Center.

"Maybe I'll ask Ash and see if he knew who made it." said May as she was replying to herself before heading back into dreamland.

_(In The Ruins Of Snowpoint City)_

Three kids are in the Snowpoint Temple, planning something very devious and a shocking surprise that will leave Ash speechless and the King much closer to ruling the world.

_(Back In The Ruins Of Pokelantis In Kanto)_

In the King's chamber, the Stone Pokeball was sitting on top of his throne when all of a sudden, it disappeared into thin air.

_(With Team Galactic)_

"Are we ready for tomorrow's invasion of the Canalave Ruins?" asked Saturn as he was looking at the two grunts.

"Yes, sir." replied the two grunts in unison.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After the King casts a spell on Ash to get ready for the King's arrival, our heroes are going to go to the Ruins to help Cynthia with her research before they go to the Canalave gym for Ash's next badge.

* * *

After arriving at the Canalave Ruins, which is a large building like over at Solaceon Town, our heroes are helping with Cynthia's research once again.

"Hey guys, I think I'll go back to the Pokemon Center and train a little before my gym battle tomorrow." said Ash as he was getting ready to leave, but was stopped by May.

"Do you need a training partner, Ash?" asked May as she walked up to him.

"Sure. If you don't mind." replied Ash as he was looking at May.

"I don't mind. We'll see you guys in a little while." said May as they were leaving.

Once Ash and May left the others and they were out of hearing distance, May started a conversation so that there wouldn't be any awkward silence between them.

"So Ash, I heard a scream this morning that woke me up. Did you hear it?" asked May curiously.

"Hear it? I was the one that screamed." replied Ash as he got a 'What are you talking about?' look from May and kind of depressed too.

"Why did you scream? Did you have a nightmare?" asked May as she was starting to worry about him with the King trying to take over the world in his body.

"Even worse than a nightmare. Follow me." replied Ash as took May's left hand and pulled her behind a bunch of bushes that was a little ways off of the trail, but not far.

"Ash, what are you hiding that you're not telling me?" asked May as she sat on her knees behind on the bush, waiting for an answer from Ash.

"I'll show you instead of telling you." said Ash as he was removing his jacket, leaving May still confused about what was going on with him.

"What do you mean?" asked May as she was still confused on what's going on while Ash was pulling up his shirt.

"By this thing." said Ash as he was showing her the weird tattoo.

"What is that and how did it get there?" asked May in shock as Ash lowered his shirt and grabbed his jacket.

"It's the mark of the City of Pokelantis. The King casted a spell last night in my dreams and when I woke up, it was still there." explained Ash as he was putting his jacket on while he was getting up with May following him.

"Wow! Well, we should go and meet up with the others before they start to wonder what happened to us." said May as she wanted to get back to the others because she knew that she wouldn't be able to train with him since she found that out about him.

"Ok, but don't tell the others because I want to tell them myself when I'm ready." said Ash as they were getting back on the trail toward the Ruins.

"Ok. I understand." said May in agreement to him.

_(Back At The Ruins)_

Just as the gang got done at the Ruins, Team Galactic waited until they were gone to go and get the Information Cube from the Ruins.

_(Back With Ash And May)_

They were almost to the Ruins, when they heard an explosion.

When they got there, they saw that it was Team Galactic once again.

"Bronzor, Psychic to stop the kid with the Pikachu!" said Saturn as he was releasing Bronzor.

Bronzor's Psychic picked Ash up and threw him again the wall of the Ruins, without Pikachu, knocking him out cold and he slid down the wall to land in a sitting position.

When they others showed up, Brock released Croagunk to battle Bronzor.

"Croagunk, Brick-Break!" said Brock.

"Pikachu, can you give us a hand?" asked May as she was looking at it.

It nodded as it entered the battlefield.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" said the gang, except Ash, of course, in unison.

Pikachu gave Team Galactic a huge Thunderbolt to send them packing.

Brock and May went over to check on Ash and found out that he was ok.

"I guess I should check on the wound one last time." said Brock.

When Brock opened Ash's jacket and lifted his shirt, Brock was shocked to see the tattoo right on the wound.

"Well, Brock, how is it?" asked Misty, who was oblivious to how Brock was looking when he turned around after looking at the tattoo.

"Oh, it's just fine. It's almost healed anyway." replied Brock as he was still in shock a little bit and forcing a smile on his face.

Let's check in with Team Rocket to see what they think of this situation.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"Did you see what happened to the twerp?" asked Meowth.

"Yeah and did you see that mark on him?" asked James as he was making his own question.

"Yeah and we need to watch out for him unless you want to be badly defeated like before when we tried to capture both the twerp group and their pokemon before." replied Jessie as she was little scared as she said that last part.

James and Meowth were too scared to say anything as they remembered that.

Let's check in with Team Galactic.

_(With Team Galactic)_

"I can't believe that those kids stopped us the first time, but now, we have what we came for so let's go to Snowpoint City followed by Sunyshore City. Let's head out!" said Saturn as he was leaving with the Information cube in hand.

"Yes, sir!" said the two grunts in unison.

Let's check back in with the gang.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After running into Team Galactic again, Ash will have to wait until tomorrow to get his next badge.

* * *

The next day was the perfect day for Ash to win his next badge.

"I can't wait to get this next badge!" said Ash excitedly.

"Do you know what it's even called, Ash?" asked Max as he was looking at Ash, who a look of embarrassment on his face as he didn't know what the name of the badge was.

"Uh, Cynthia, do you know what the badge here is called?" asked Ash as he was embarrassed about not knowing what the name of the badge was.

Everyone just hit the faces with their hands and let them slide down their faces as they weren't surprised that he didn't know it.

"Of course I do, Ash. It's called the Mine Badge and the gym leader's name is Byron." replied Cynthia as she had a small sweat drop as she was trying to make Ash feel better after embarrassing himself just a few seconds ago.

"Thanks for telling me." said Ash as he was still embarrassed.

_(At The Canalave Gym)_

Once they arrived at the gym, they found the gym leader entering it.

Cynthia called after him and talked to him for a little bit before she motioned for Ash to step up to the plate to ask him for a challenge.

"Byron, I challenge you to a gym battle." said Ash as he was challenging Byron to a battle.

"And I accept your challenge." replied Byron as he led them to the battlefield.

_(On The Battlefield)_

Once the two of them took their battle positions at each end of the battlefield, the battle was about to begin.

"This gym battle between the gym leader, Byron, and the challenger, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, is about to begin! Trainers ready?" announced the referee, who was a boy, as he was looking between Byron, on his right, and Ash, on his left.

"Yeah!" yelled the trainers in unison.

"Then let the match begin!"

"Go Bronzor!"

"Go Turtwig!"

"Bronzor, Flash Cannon!"

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!"

The attacks collided together, but the Razor Leaf hit Bronzor hard.

"Bronzor, Gyro Ball!"

"Turtwig, Energy Ball!"

The Energy Ball hit first, knocking Bronzor out.

"Bronzor's unable to battle. Turtwig's the winner!"

"Go Steelix! Steelix, Ice Fang!"

"Turtwig, Energy Ball!"

Again, the Energy Ball hit first, but it wasn't out just yet.

"Steelix, Gyro Ball!"

"Turtwig, rapid fire Razor Leaf!"

The Razor Leaf hit Steelix hard enough to knock it out.

"Steelix's unable to battle. Turtwig's the winner!"

"Go Bastiodon! Bastiodon, Rock Throw!"

"Turtwig, Energy Ball!"

The Rock Throw hit first, knocking Turtwig out.

"Turtwig's unable to battle. Bastiodon's the winner!"

"Go Buizel!"

"Bastiodon, Flash Cannon!"

"Buizel, Water Gun!"

The attacks collided, but the Water Gun was pushed back and the Flash Cannon hit Buizel hard, but it wasn't out just yet.

"Bastiodon, Rock Throw!"

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!" The Rock Throw hit first, once again knocking Buizel out.

"Buizel's unable to battle. Bastiodon's the winner!"

"Go Chimchar!"

"Bastiodon, Hyper Beam!"

"Chimchar, Dig followed by Flamethrower!"

The Hyper Beam missed Chimchar, but Dig and Flamethrower hit Bastiodon hard, but not hard enough.

"Chimchar, Flame Wheel!"

The Flame Wheel delivered the final blow to knock out Bastiodon.

"Bastiodon's unable to battle. Chimchar's the winner and the winner of the match is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" said the referee.

"Great job, Chimchar!" said Ash excitedly.

"Good job, Ash, and to prove that you've won her at the Canalave gym, I give you the Mine Badge." said Byron as he was handing Ash the Mine Badge.

"Thanks! Alright, we got the Mine Badge!" said Ash with a little more enthusiasm than before when he was embarrassed as he did his usual pose.

"Hey Ash, now onto Snowpoint City for the Icicle Badge." said Cynthia as she was looking at Ash.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" said Ash excitedly.

Let's see what Team Rocket is up to.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"There's nothing here for us to snatch so what do we do now, Meowth?" asked Jessie.

"Why are you looking at me?!" asked Meowth surprised.

"Since there's nothing here to steal, why don't we head to Snowpoint City since the twerp group is already on their way there." said James.

"Yeah and we're going to snatch Pikachu yet!" said Jessie and Meowth in unison.

Let's check back in with the gang.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After winning the Mine Badge, our heroes continue on their way to Snowpoint City.

* * *

**Here's Chapter 13! I hope you liked it! Sorry it's late though. School has been working me to the bone and I haven't had time to do much along with my computer was being worked on last weekend! Oh well! Dont' forget to check out the poll on my profile page because once it gets to a certain number it will be closed. See you when Chapter 14 is posted!**


	14. What Is That Tattoo All About Ash!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, but if I did, this would be a movie.**

**And I am getting this chapter out just in time for Easter too! Whoo hoo!**

**

* * *

****Chapter 14: Tell Me What That Tattoo's All About Ash!**

On their way to Snowpoint City, our heroes stop for lunch and an explanation for Brock.

Misty was helping Brock with getting lunch together, when she noticed that something was bothering him.

"Brock, is there something bothering you?" asked Misty as she had never seen Brock like this before.

"No. Nothing at all. Ok, everyone, time for lunch!" said Brock as he was letting the others know that lunch was ready for them.

Once they were done with lunch, Brock asked Ash, who was surprised about that, to help him clean up.

_(With Ash And Brock)_

While they were cleaning up, which was a little spot near the river, a little ways from where they had set up for lunch, Brock tried to start a conversation with Ash, which worked to his advantage he figured.

"So Ash, tell me about what that tattoo on your stomach is all about." said Brock casually and curiously without looking up from what he was doing.

Ash stopped what he was doing as he was shocked when Brock told him that, but after a few seconds, he started to continue on what he was doing before that.

"How did you find out about it?" asked Ash still in shock.

"When I checked on your wound after Team Galactic left." replied Brock as he was concentrating on what he was doing.

"Well, it's called the mark of Pokelantis and the King casted a spell to make it appear on my body in order to rule the world during a nightmare a couple of night's ago." explained Ash as he was trying not to look at Brock, who was now looking at him with amazement written on his face.

"Does anybody else know about it other than me?" asked Brock as he turned his head back to what he was doing and hoping that it was just him that knew about it.

"Only May and that's it." replied Ash as he was slashing Brock's hope that no one other than him knew about it.

"Then we'll have to inform Brandon and see if he can come all the way over here to help you with the King." said Brock as he was thinking logically.

"Yeah and tell him to bring the Stone Pokeball to seal the King away forever too." agreed Ash as he was now looking at Brock.

"Alright. I'll call Brandon when we get to Snowpoint City." said Brock.

"Oh and Brock, don't tell anyone else in the group, except May, about the tattoo because I want to tell them when I'm good and ready to." said Ash as he was glancing at Brock out of the corner of his eye as he was concentrating on what he was doing.

Brock nodded his head, 'Yes', and was finished cleaning up when they finished their conversation.

Just as they were done with the dishes, a group of three kids in the Snowpoint Temple are planning something for tomorrow.

_(In The Snowpoint Temple)_

"Are we ready for tomorrow?" asked a boy to his friends.

"Yeah and we're already for tomorrow too." replied a girl to her two friends.

"Then let's go!" said another boy to the two friends.

The other two just nodded in response and followed their friend out of the Snowpoint Temple.

Let's check back in with the gang.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After Ash explained to Brock about what's been going on, our heroes continue on their way to Snowpoint City.

* * *

Closing in on Snowpoint City, our heroes continue to make their way through the Canalave forest.

_(With The Three Kids)_

"Go ahead and release the flock of Spearow." said one of the boys to the other two after spotting the gang.

"Ok." said the boy and the girl in unison as they released the flock of Spearow that they had captured for this part of their plan.

_(Back With The Gang)_

All of a sudden, they were attacked by a flock of Spearow, the same flock that the three kids had released just a little bit ago, and they were separated into three groups, two groups of three and one group of two.

Brock and May ran to the west of where they were and found themselves lost, but they were pretty close to Snowpoint City though.

Cynthia, Lucian, and Max went back the way that they had come from, which brought them farther away from the others.

While the rest of the gang went their own ways, Ash, Dawn, and Misty ran to the east, but what happens next, will change the way that the two girls look at Ash.

_(With Brock And May)_

"Are you alright, May?" asked Brock as they were catching their breathes after running from the flock of Spearow that was released by the three kids.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you, Brock?" asked May as she was making her own question.

"I'm fine, but how are we going to find the others?" asked Brock again as he was making his own question.

"Maybe we should head back the way we came from and maybe we'll meet up with everyone else at the same time." replied May as they were trying to figure a way back to the others.

Brock just nodded 'Yes' and followed May as they were making their way back to the path that they were on.

_(With Cynthia, Lucian, And Max)_

"Is everyone alright?" asked Cynthia as she was trying to catch her breath.

"Yeah, we're fine." replied Lucian and Max in unison.

"Then we should head back to see if we can meet up with everyone else." said Cynthia reasonably.

"Yeah." said Lucian and Max in unison again.

_(With Ash, Dawn, And Misty)_

When they were trying to catch their breaths, Pikachu heard something that was coming their way.

"What is it, Pikachu?" asked Ash as he was looking at Pikachu.

"Hey guys, did you hear that?" asked Dawn as she heard something come from the forest around them.

"I heard it too. It sounds like it's getting much closer." replied Misty.

"I think it's almost here." said Ash with the two girls looking at him with scared looks on their faces.

_(Back With The Three Kids)_

"Get ready, you two." said one of the boys as the three were running through the same forest as Ash and his friends were in.

"Right." said the boy and the girl in unison as they followed their friend.

_(Back With Ash, Dawn, And Misty)_

As soon as Ash said that, the three kids jumped out to reveal themselves to the guys.

"You take the blue-haired girl and you take the redhead. I'll take the kid with the Pikachu. GO!" said the girl as she was giving out commands.

The boy, that was assigned Misty, took her Togetic so that she would follow him and she did, following him into a trap so that she can leave Ash alone with Dawn, the girl, and the other boy.

Ash couldn't believe what was happening.

"Ok, that's it! Let's go Turtwig! Huh?" said Ash as he was realizing that his Pokebelt was gone.

"Is this what you're looking for? Well, here you go!" said the girl.

She threw his Pokebelt to her other boy friend and Dawn ran after him because Ash was being blocked by a certain annoying girl.

"Let me go and get my Pokebelt now!" said Ash as he was looking at her in they eyes since she was as tall as he was.

The girl just stood there, still blocking him.

"Ok, have it your way! Pikachu, Quick Attack!" said Ash.

As Pikachu almost hit the girl, she brought her arm up to block the attack and threw Pikachu against a tree, knocking it out cold.

_(Back With Misty)_

Misty was trying to catch the boy with her Togetic, but was slowing down as soon as she was almost upon him.

_(Back With Dawn)_

Dawn was having a heck of a time trying to catch the other boy that took off with Ash's Pokebelt, but was slowing down too when she came close to catching him.

_(Back With Ash)_

As Ash now faces the leader of the three kids without any pokemon, will Ash be able to defeat her?

* * *

Last time, Ash was facing the leader of the three kids without his pokemon or Pikachu.

Will he be able to defeat her?

Let's find out.

"When you mess with Pikachu, you mess with me!" yelled Ash as he was running to attack her.

When she saw this, she ran so fast that it looked like a Quick Attack because in an instant, she grabbed Ash, who had stopped when he saw her do this, and pushed him hard against a tree.

She held his head with her right hand by his throat, almost choking him.

His vision was starting to get blurry when he tried to punch her so that she would let go of him, but he missed her completely.

As soon as she dodge it, she punched him hard in the stomach, making him wince and gasp for air, but her hand made it hard to do that.

"You're not what I thought that you were." said the girl as she threw him by his jacket.

Just as fast as she cornered Ash, she went into the forest to do a sneak attack on him.

"What are you doing here and what do you want?" asked Ash as he was getting up in shock of what just happened to him.

When he said that she came out of the forest and up behind him and hit a certain point in his shoulders hard, making both of his arms immovable.

She went back into the forest so that Ash couldn't see her again.

"What on earth?!" said Ash as he couldn't feel or move his arms at all.

"I'm going to take you down little…"

She came out again and hit his left leg hard and again it was unable to move.

"By…"

She came out and hit his right leg hard and again it was unable to move.

"Little."

She came up behind Ash and hit him hard in the back, making him fall to the ground on his stomach, but he was able to move his head.

"Where are you?!" yelled Ash as he was trying to find her, but failed to do so.

"Right behind you." said the girl as she hit him on his neck to knock him out.

_(Back With Misty)_

She had just caught up to the boy and took her Togetic back and started to run back to where Ash was even though she was exhausted from the run to get her Togetic back.

Just before she was out of hearing distance, she could hear the boy talking to either himself or someone else as he was just standing there.

"The redhead got her Togetic back even though I tried to keep it away from her, Xandor. Yeah, I know. Just tell Andrea that I got the redhead away from her for as far away as I could before she got her pokemon back. See ya later at the hiding spot. Be careful with the blue-haired girl because she might give you the slip." said the boy before Misty ran back to the path where she saw Dawn turn left to follow the other boy.

"_I wonder who Andrea is unless… That's the girl that's after Ash! I have to get back before something happens to him!"_ said Misty in her mind as she was trying to make her body produce more energy to help Ash out.

_(Back With Dawn)_

She also had just caught up to the boy that was now known as Xandor and grabbed Ash's Pokebelt when he wasn't looking and started to run back the way that she came from.

Before she was also out of hearing distance, she heard Xandor talking to either himself or someone else as he was standing in the same place as he did when he stopped.

"Michael, you were right about the blue-haired girl giving me the slip because she just took that boy's Pokebelt back. You know what I don't think that we should tell Andrea what we've been talking about because that might give her less time to take care of that boy. Ok. See ya back at the guardian hiding spot." said Xandor before Dawn ran back to the path and where she met up with Misty and started to talk about what happened to each other when they had split up.

_(Back With Ash)_

She rolled him over, opened his jacket, and lifted his shirt so that the tattoo was showing.

"_It won't be long now, your highness."_ said the girl now known as Andrea in her mind as she was starting to cast a spell that would make it impossible for Ash to stay in control of his body when the King took over whenever he wanted.

Just when she was in the middle of the spell, she heard two voices not too far away.

"Ash! ASH!" yelled Misty and Dawn in unison

"Shoot! I was so close too! See you soon, you highness." said Andrea as she left to meet Michael and Xandor at their guardian hiding spot as she was unable to finish her spell.

Just as Misty and Dawn came out of the forest, they saw Ash lying on the ground just the was that Andrea left him.

"Ash, are you ok?!" asked Misty in shock as she looked at the tattoo on Ash's stomach.

"What is it, Misty? What's wrong?" asked Dawn as she was looking at Misty's face as it still had the shocked look on it.

"Look." replied Misty as she was pointing at the tattoo, still in shock.

"Wow! He's got some explaining to do." said Dawn.

"Misty? Dawn? Is that you?" asked Ash as he was waking up and snapping Misty out of her shock.

"Ash, are you ok?" asked Dawn curiously as she was hoping that he was.

"No. I can't feel my arms and legs. Let Staravia out so that it can find the others." replied Ash as he was slashing Dawn's hope of being alright.

Dawn just nodded as she released Staravia and it found the others in a couple of minutes.

_(Back With Brock And May)_

"Hey. It's Ash's Staravia! Let's follow it!" said Brock as soon as he saw it flying by over head.

"Yeah!" said May as she was following Brock closely.

_(Back With Cynthia, Lucian, And Max)_

"Hey, isn't that Ash's Staravia?" asked Max as he saw it flying over them.

"It is! Let's follow it!" said Cynthia as she was recognizing it from anywhere and running after it.

"Yeah!" said Lucian and Max in unison as they were following her.

_(Back With Ash, Dawn, And Misty)_

All three of them saw Staravia come back with voices that were coming from behind it and recognized them instantly as the others.

When they got there, Brock and Lucian helped Ash up as he was starting to get some feeling back in his legs, since he already had feeling in his arms because he had pulled his shirt down after he had felt a breeze on his stomach, but Brock kept a hold on him so that he wouldn't fall.

"How did this happen to you?" asked Brock curiously as he was looking at Ash.

"We got attacked by two boys and a girl. Misty, Dawn, do you know who their names are?" asked Ash as he was looking at them.

"Well, the boy who attacked me was Michael and the one that attacked Dawn is known as Xandor. The girl was called Andrea, who's the one that attacked you. Dawn and I talked about what happened to both of us while we were on our way back here." explained Misty as she was looking between Ash and Dawn as she was talking.

"Well, I guess we're close to Snowpoint by now so let's get going." said Cynthia as she was trying to change the subject and it worked.

_(Back With Andrea, Michael, And Xandor)_

Andrea, Michael, and Xandor were running back to their "guardian" hiding place, not talking to each other about what happened that same day because they weren't in the mood to fight with each other about what a failure the mission was to release their highness from his prison.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After beating the three kids, our heroes are gonna get a good night's sleep then they'll help Cynthia at the Snowpoint Ruins.

* * *

Upon arriving at the Snowpoint Ruins, our heroes start to help Cynthia, but Ash is starting to do his own research about the King.

"Hey, Ash, I think that I'll go back to the Pokemon Center so that I can call Brandon." whispered Brock to Ash when they were a little ways away from the others.

"Ok. If I find anything, I'll come and let you know." whispered Ash back to him.

While Cynthia and the others finish up, Ash was almost to the Snowpoint Temple, that was inside the Ruins.

May and Max were starting to wonder where Ash was because they didn't see him anywhere around the group.

"Ash, where are you?" asked May as they were starting to call out for him.

"I'm almost at the Temple." replied Ash as he was yelling back in response.

_(Back At The Pokemon Center)_

Brock was talking to Brandon, who was at the same Ruins where the Stone Pokeball was located from before when Ash was competing in the Battle Frontier.

"I can't believe that he's returned. Do you know how many times the King had appeared including that time at the Battle Pyramid?" asked Brandon as he was hoping that it was a very few times like two or three and not halfway.

"I think that it's 10 times." replied Brock as he was slashing Brandon's hope of not being halfway.

"Oh, this is bad news." said Brandon as he was looking down sadly about this predicament that Ash got himself into.

"I almost forgot to ask you. Could you bring the Stone Pokeball with you so that we could seal the King away?" asked Brock.

"I will. Just let me go and get it. Hold on." replied Brandon as he left to get the Stone Pokeball from where it was placed on the King's thrown after the little masquerade from before that led them to this position.

_(With Andrea, Michael, And Xandor)_

"Oh no! Someone's starting to open the doors! Let's get out of here!" said Andrea as she was leaving.

"Yeah!" replied Michael and Xandor in unison as they were following her.

There was a bright light and then, they were gone from within the Temple, but they forgot something very important.

_(Back With The Others)_

Ash had just opened the doors to the Temple when he saw something that shouldn't be there at all.

"Hey, guys, come check this out." said Ash as he was in shock of what was inside the Temple.

When May and Max first arrived out of the group, they were shocked as well to see the Stone Pokeball sitting on the floor, proud as ever, there.

"How did that get here?!" yelled May and Max in unison as they were pointing a finger to the Stone Pokeball and looking at Ash at the same time.

"I don't know, but I better go and show it to Brock." said Ash as he was grabbing it off of the floor and running to find Brock at the Pokemon Center.

_(Back At The Pokemon Center)_

Brock was waiting for Brandon to return to the phone when, all of a sudden, he heard a yell from the other end.

"It's not here! How could that be?!" yelled Brandon as he was coming back on the phone with shock written all over his face.

"What do you mean that it's not there?" asked Brock as he was in shock too of hearing this.

Just then, Ash came running into the Pokemon Center, holding the Stone Pokeball in his right hand.

"Brock, look what I found in the Temple." said Ash as he was showing it to Brock and Brandon.

"How did that get here?" asked Brock as he was looking at it.

"I don't know, but when I opened the doors to the Temple, it was there, sitting on the ground." replied Ash.

"Ash, are you at halfway with the King yet?" asked Brandon as he was still hoping that it wasn't true.

"Yes. I am, but the King hasn't taken over in a while now." replied Ash as he was slashing Brandon's hope for the second time that day.

"Do you have the mark on you yet?" asked Brandon.

"Yeah and I don't really know what's going on either." replied Ash.

"Ok. I'll meet you and the others in a couple of days at Sunyshore City because there's a gym and a contest that's going to happen in 5 days. I'll see you there and Brock, can you take pictures of the tattoo now and whenever it grows when the King takes over again? Thanks. Bye." said Brandon as he was hanging up.

"Ok. Bye. Let's go and meet up with the others once I buy a camera." said Brock as they were leaving the Pokemon Center.

"Ok." said Ash as he was following Brock.

_(Back With Andrea, Michael, And Xandor)_

"I can't believe that kid from yesterday took the Stone Pokeball." said Michael angrily as they had arrived back at the Temple after Ash, May, and Max had left.

"Michael, settle down. Don't worry about it." said Xandor calmly as he was watching Michael start to pace back and forth, but was stopped by what Andrea had to say.

"Besides, that kid has something other than the Stone Pokeball that we want. So settle down, my fellow guardians." said Andrea with a devious look on her face.

The two guys have out a "Huh?" look on their faces at that last part because they were confused about what their leader was talking about.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After meeting up with the others, our heroes will have another good night's sleep for Ash's gym battle at the Snowpoint Gym with Candice, the gym leader.

* * *

After arriving in Snowpoint City and finding out that Brandon will meet them in Sunyshore City, our heroes are making their way to the gym to find Candice and challenge her to a battle for the Icicle Badge.

_(At The Snowpoint Gym)_

As they entered the gym, they found Candice finishing up her training on the battlefield, which was made of ice.

"Hey, Candice, how are you?" asked Cynthia and Lucian in unison.

"Hey, Cynthia and Lucian. I'm fine. How are you?" asked Candice as she was making her own question.

"We're fine." replied Cynthia and Lucian in unison again.

"What are you two doing here anyway?" asked Candice curiously.

"Well, we're here to look at the Ruins, which we did yesterday and for our friend, Ash, who's in the Sinnoh League, for the Icicle Badge." explained Cynthia as she was giving Ash the idea that he was good to go.

"Candice, I challenge you to a battle for the Icicle Badge." said Ash after Cynthia said that.

"Ok. I accept your challenge. Let's go and take our places on the battlefield." said Candice as she was going to take her place on the other side of the battlefield.

_(On The Battlefield)_

As soon as they took their positions on the battlefield and the referee, who was a girl, came out, the battle was ready to begin.

"This match between Candice, the gym leader, and the challenger, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, is about to begin! Are the trainers ready?" asked the girl referee as she was looking between Candice, on her left, and Ash, on her right.

"Yeah!" yelled the two trainers in unison.

"Then let the match begin!" said the girl referee.

"Go Snover!"

"Go Pikachu!"

"Snover, Razor Leaf!"

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

The Iron Tail knocked down the Razor Leaf and hit Snover hard.

"Snover, Ice Shard!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

The Thunderbolt knocked Snover out cold before it launched the Ice Shard attack.

"Snover's unable to battle. Pikachu's the winner!"

"Go Sneasel! Sneasel, Faint Attack!"

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

The two attacks collided in mid-air, but the Faint Attack hit Pikachu hard.

"Sneasel, Avalanche!"

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

The Avalanche stopped the Volt Tackle completely, knocking Pikachu out.

"Pikachu's unable to battle. Sneasel's the winner!"

"Go Chimchar!"

"Sneasel, Faint Attack!"

"Chimchar, Flame Wheel!"

The Flame Wheel hit first, knocking Sneasel out.

"Sneasel's unable to battle. Chimchar's the winner!"

"Go Medicham!"

"Chimchar, Return. Go Staravia!"

"Medicham, Ice Punch!"

"Staravia, Wing Attack!"

They smashed into each other, no side backing down at all.

"Medicham, Focus Punch!"

"Staravia, Aerial Ace!"

The attacks smashed against each other, knocking both of them out.

"Medicham and Staravia are unable to battle. It's a draw!"

"Go Abamasnow!"

"Go Chimchar!"

"Abamasnow, Avalanche!"

"Chimchar, Flame Wheel!"

Just before the Avalanche attack hit Chimchar, it used Flame Wheel to dodge it, and then, it hit Abamasnow hard, but not hard enough to knock it out.

"Abamasnow, Wood Hammer!"

"Chimchar, Dig followed by Flamethrower!"

Chimchar dodged the Wood Hammer with Dig and when it came up, it released a powerful Flamethrower to knock out Abamasnow.

"Abamasnow's unable to battle. Chimchar's the winner and the winner of the match is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" said the girl referee.

"Great job, Chimchar. We did it!" said Ash as he gave Chimchar a hug.

"Good job, Ash, and to prove that you've won here at the Snowpoint gym, I award you the Icicle Badge." said Candice as she was handing Ash the Icicle Badge.

"Thanks. Alright, we got the Icicle Badge!" said Ash as he was doing his usual pose.

"Now onto Sunyshore City for the Beacon Badge." said Cynthia.

"And for Dawn's next contest too." said Brock.

"Then let's get going!" yelled Ash and Dawn in unison as they were excited to get going.

_(With Team Galactic)_

"Yes, we finally have another piece of the puzzle. Next, we have to Sunyshore Ruins, and then, the Lake Acuity Ruins followed by the Mt. Coronet Ruins. Let's move out!" said Saturn to the boy and girl grunt.

"Yes, sir." said the two grunts in unison.

Then, they left for the Sunyshore Ruins.

Let's just hope that our heroes don't run into them again.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After beating Candice and getting the Icicle Badge, our heroes continue on their way to Sunyshore City for Ash's gym battle and Dawn's next contest.

* * *

**Well, that was Chapter 14. Sorry if it's a little late, but I had a lot of craziness going on with school and home. :( The next one is a lot crazier because of the whole guardian thing with the three kids and all. Well, I just want to wish all of you a HAPPY EASTER!**


	15. Team Rocket Returns With A Vengeance!

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except Michael, Xandor, Andrea, David, Parker, and the last one I'll put down at the bottom.**

**

* * *

****Chapter 15: Team Rocket Returns With A Vengeance!**

After leaving Snowpoint City for Sunyshore City, our heroes stop for Ash and Dawn to train in a big area that was surrounded by trees, but where are Ash, Brock and May?

_(With Ash, Brock, And May)_

"Are we almost done, Brock?" asked Ash as he was holding up his shirt so that the tattoo was fully seen.

They were busy taking pictures of the tattoo for Brandon so that he might be able to figure out what's going on between Ash and the King.

"One more shot and we're done." replied Brock as he took the last photo with the camera they bought.

"Finally!" said Ash and May in unison as they were happy to finally get all of that done.

Then, they headed back to the little training area for Ash to train with Dawn.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"We ready to put the plan into action, Meowth?" asked Jessie as she was looking at Meowth.

"Yeah, Jessie. Do you have the net ready, James?" asked Meowth after answering Jessie's question.

"Yeah. So let's go!" replied James as they left in their hot-air balloon to put the plan into action.

_(Back At The Training Spot)_

As soon as they returned, Ash started to train with May, Misty, and Lucian while Dawn was training with Brock and Cynthia, which Brock was going gaga for her surprisingly enough.

Once they got done training, they started to think of strategies for Ash and Dawn, when all of a sudden, Team Rocket snatched the pokemon with a huge net.

"Thanks for all of the pokemon, twerps and twerpettes! We'll see you once we get our giant promotion!" said Team Rocket as they were leaving in their hot-air balloon.

"Team Rocket, get back here!" yelled May as they were running after Team Rocket on ground.

After running foe a while to catch up to Team Rocket, the gang stops to catch their breathes when Max noticed something off.

"Hey guys, where's Ash?" asked Max curiously as he was looking for him.

"I thought he was right behind us." replied Dawn as she was looking at the others.

_(Back With Ash)_

Ash was about to follow the others when, he stopped in his tracks and his head was looking at the ground because the King returned, possessing his body.

Then, the King ran off so fast that it looked like a Quick Attack.

_(Back With The Others)_

They were calling out for Ash to see if they could find him incase he got lost.

Before they realized it, the King flew past them faster than lightning.

"Was that Ash or was that the wind?" asked Misty as they felt the giant gust of wind from the King.

"It was Ash. I saw him for a split second and then, he was gone just like that." replied Cynthia as she snapped her fingers with that last part.

"Then, let's follow him and see if he needs help." said Brock as he was starting to go the way that the King went when he went flying by.

"Right!" yelled the others in unison as they followed Brock.

_(Back With The King)_

He had just caught up to Team Rocket, in a clearing that was pretty big and surrounded by trees, to tell the pokemon this without Team Rocket noticing him at all: "Everyone, us your most powerful attack full power!"

The pokemon did what he said and broke the net that they were in to get free.

Team Rocket was in shock at the way the King had caught up to them so fast.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt full power!" said the King.

The Thunderbolt blasted Team Rocket away into the sky, saying: "Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Ash! Ash, you're ok!" said the others in unison as they were running up to the King.

He just turned around and started to walk towards the woods.

"Wait, Ash! What are you doing?" asked the four girls in unison.

Just before the King entered the woods, he turned his head towards the gang, as far as he could without snapping his neck, like he wanted to tell them something.

"11 down and 9 to go. See you soon losers! Ha Ha Ha!" said the King as he left Ash's body.

He fell to his knees, bent over as he was clutching his stomach.

"Ash, are you ok?" asked Lucian as he bent down on one knee next to him.

"Well, my stomach feel numb." replied Ash before he fell unconscious.

Then, he fell unconscious on the ground in pain because the tattoo was growing.

Brock didn't care if everyone saw it or not, but he rolled Ash over, quite easily, opened his jacket, and lifted his shirt to reveal the tattoo growing over his chest a little, sides a little, and below the waist a little too.

"What the heck is wrong with him?" exclaimed Cynthia, Lucian, and Max in unison.

"He'll explain later." said Brock.

After Team Rocket attacked the gang by taking all of the pokemon and the King making his first appearance since the tattoo appeared on Ash, our heroes continue to make their way to Sunyshore City to meet up with Brandon.

* * *

Continuing onto Sunyshore city, our heroes stop for lunch and an explanation from Ash.

"Ok, Ash, start explaining about the tattoo!" said the gang, except Brock and May, in unison.

Ash looked at Brock, annoyed by him checking on the tattoo in front of everyone yesterday.

As Ash starts explaining all about the tattoo, three certain guardians are preparing for their king's arrival.

_(With The Three Guardians)_

"I was so close to releasing the kid's spirit so that his majesty, Kashton, to take over." said Andrea as she was mad at herself.

They had returned to the Snowpoint Temple right after the gang had left it and they were discussing about what should've happened.

"I tried to keep the red head away, but she caught me off guard." said Michael as he was also mad at himself.

"Me too, but the blue-haired girl grabbed the kid's pokebelt when I wasn't looking." said Xandor as she was also mad at himself.

They were thinking hard of how to get their king back when all of a sudden, they heard a voice in their minds.

"_Andrea, Michael, Xandor, listen, I know the name of the three kids that you attacked. The red head is called Misty, the blue-haired girl is called Dawn and the boy, that I'm using to come back, is called Ash. That is all or now and don't tell the council about what I'm doing either or they'll stop me like last time."_ said the King telepathically to them.

The guardians remembered what happened before to the King and they shuddered at the thought.

_(Flashback)_

Kashton was just outside his palace, which was the biggest palace in the land, when he saw a Ho-Oh flying over head.

"_This time, you're mine."_ said Kashton in his mind as he was watching Ho-Oh.

"Go, Stone Pokeball!" said Kashton as he threw the Stone Pokeball at Ho-Oh.

Ho-Oh dodged it before the Stone Pokeball hit it and it landed just a few feet from Kashton.

"Why did you throw that at me?" said Ho-Oh as it was transforming into a man and snatching the Stone Pokeball off the ground and into his right hand.

"Holy! I forgot that you were Ho-Oh. Sorry." said Kashton in an apologetic voice.

"'Sorry' is not good enough anymore. Now, that was the last straw and for your betrayal, I'll seal you away for eternity. Ha Ha Ha!" said Holy as he was preparing the Stone Pokeball.

"No Holy! Don't do it!" yelled Kashton as he was trying to get away from Holy, but it didn't work.

"Darkness come forth from the light!" said Holy as he was sealing Kashton's aura away in the Stone Pokeball forever.

Holy changed the spell that he just said and engraved the reversed spell on the pokeball.

Then, he sealed the Stone Pokeball in Kashton's chamber forever and destroyed Pokelantis in his Ho-Oh form.

_(End Flashback)_

"Yeah or he'll kill us for sure." said Andrea as she was kind of scared.

"We mustn't tell Holy and the council if they are resurrected again." said Xandor as he was the wisest guardian in the group.

"Let's hope that David and Peter don't team up with them, but team up with us instead." said Michael as he was being hopeful.

"Let's get going before the two of them even think about resurrecting them at all. Andrea, go and find the legendary Darkrai in Alamos Town and convince it to lend its powers, then capture it so that we can use Dark Void to put Ash to sleep so that we can get out king back. Michael and I will try to stop David and Parker from doing anything that they'll regret." said Xandor as he was telling them the plan.

"Ok. Where will we meet up once our missions are complete?" asked Andrea curiously.

"How about we meet up at the place where the Sinnoh League is being held since Kashton's body will be there?" asked Michael.

"You mean Mt. Coronet, Michael?" asked Xandor as he was making his own question with an eyebrow raised at Michael and arms folded.

"Yeah." replied Michael as he was embarrassed that he couldn't remember the name of the place.

"Ok! See you guys soon!" said the three guardians in unison as they left on their missions.

Once everybody left the Snowpoint Temple, they didn't notice that someone or something was listening to their plans, but who is it?

_(Back With The Gang)_

Ash had just finished explaining to the others when all of a sudden, he blacked out for a couple of minutes.

"Ash? Ash, are you ok? Say something!" said Dawn as the four girls caught him before he fell to the ground.

After a couple of minutes had past, Ash woke up feeling a little weird.

"What happened to you, Ash?" asked Brock as he was worried about his friend.

"I don't know, but I felt lightheaded and then. I blacked out." replied Ash as he was holding his head as he got up off of the ground.

The gang was starting to worry about Ash, but they didn't show it on their faces.

After Ash blacked out for no reason, our heroes are making their way into Sunyshore City.

* * *

As soon as they entered Sunyshore City, our heroes are making their way to the Ruins to meet up with Brandon and to continue their research.

_(At The Sunyshore Ruins)_

When they arrived at the Sunyshore Ruins, which was full of stone towers and tablets, they spotted Brandon, already doing some research in the middle of the Ruins.

"Hi, Brandon. It's good to see you again!" said Ash excitedly as he ran over to Brandon.

"Well, if it isn't Ash and the gang. It's good to see you again." said Brandon as he was turned away from what he was doing and looking at the gang.

"Have you discovered anything yet, Brandon?" asked Ash as he was now getting to the point.

"In fact, I have. I've discovered that the King was in Johto, Hoenn, and here in Sinnoh before becoming the King of Pokelantis in Kanto." replied Brandon as he was looking at the stone tablet that had told him that.

"Wait a minute, Brandon. Ash has been to Johto, Hoenn, then Kanto, and now here in Sinnoh." said Brock as he was telling Brandon about all of the different regions that Ash had been in.

"That's bad news because right now, Ash, you're following in the King's footsteps and soon he will be the ruler of the world." said Brandon grimly as he was looking at Ash.

As he said that last part, the gang jumped away from Ash and looked at him with a scared look on their faces.

Ash just looked at them like they were crazy or something before he looked back at Brandon.

"Can't we do something to stop this thing inside of me from taking over the world?" asked Ash with hope in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Ash, but there's nothing that we can do, but let things take their course." replied Brandon as he was slashing Ash's hope to stop the King.

"Ok. Did you discover anything else, Brandon?" asked Ash as he was starting to feel a little depressed about that.

"I did. I discovered that the King was somehow connected to Ho-Oh, Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno, and Lugia, along with the legendary pokemon of Sinnoh, Dialga, Palkia, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azlef too." said Brandon as he was looking at another stone tablet that held that information.

"WHAT?" yelled the gang in unison and disbelief.

"I figured that all out just by looking at the stone tablets here." said Brandon as he was looking at all of the stone tablets.

All of a sudden, something hit Ash with something that he might regret telling the others, especially Brandon.

"Hold on, Brandon. Did you say Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno, Lugia, Dialga, Palkia, and Azlef?" asked Ash as he was kind of nervous.

"Yes, I did. Why do you ask?" asked Brandon as he was making his own question.

"Because I've helped all of those pokemon to get the world back to the way it was before now." replied Ash as he was looking worried.

"Well, as long as you didn't help Ho-Oh, Uxie, and Mesprit, you still have a chance to stop it, but not much of a chance." said Brandon.

This scared Ash when Brandon said that there wasn't much of a chance.

"Oh, that's good to hear, Brandon." said Misty as she was relieved to hear that.

May noticed that Ash had a scared look on his face instead of one full of relief.

"Ash, is something bothering you?" asked May as she was curious why her friend had a scared look on his face.

"What will happen to the Stone Pokeball once the King has taken over for good?" asked Ash as he was kind of in a rush.

"Once the King has taken over for good, the Stone Pokeball will suck up your very own aura and seal it away until either the King or one of your friends release it back into the world." replied Brandon.

Ash started to back away, scared to death if he could, and ran away from the Ruins just to put all of the new information into his thick skull.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"What were they talking about, Jessie?"asked James.

"I don't know. Ask Meowth. He might know what they were taking about, James." replied Jessie as she was annoyed by James.

"Do YOU know what they were taking about, Meowth?" asked James.

"Yeah. They were talking about a king and legendary pokemon and that the twerp is in trouble because something's going to take over the world using his body." replied Meowth.

"Oh." said Jessie and James in unison and in shock.

"So that must be the reason why he doesn't give us a chance to say our motto." said Meowth also in shock. (And I don't like to write the motto in because I think that it takes away from the storyline too much any way!)

"Let's get out of here before anyone sees us." said James as he was finally snapping out of his shock.

"Ok." said Jessie and Meowth in unison after Jessie finally got out of her shock.

_(Back With The Gang)_

"Well, I guess we should see if he's ok and help Dawn get ready for her contest tomorrow, so let's go." said Brock as he was looking at the others.

Everyone, including Brandon, ran to the Pokemon Center to make sure that Ash is ok.

_(Back With Ash)_

"_Why does it have to happen to me and me alone?"_ said Ash in his mind as he was running towards the Pokemon Center with Pikachu on his shoulder.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After meeting up with Brandon and catching up with Ash, our heroes are gonna get a good night's sleep for Dawn's pokemon contest the next day.

* * *

As the contest before the Grand Festival is only a few minutes away, our heroes are helping Dawn with picking her strategy and pokemon to use.

"Ok. I think that I'll use Piplup for the appeal round and Ambipom for the battle round." announced Dawn after thinking about it for a few minutes.

"That sounds like a good plan, Dawn." complemented May.

"Well, shouldn't we head to our seats before Brandon get impatient with us about leaving him alone." said Brock as he was leaving with the others right behind him.

"Good luck, Dawn." said Ash as he was the last one to leave.

_(The Beginning Of The Sunyshore Contest)_

Once that was over with, the Sunyshore Contest began.

Dawn was the first coordinator to go in the appeal round.

"Piplup, Spotlight! Piplup, Bubblebeam followed by Peck!"

The Bubblebeam was smashed beautifully by Peck.

"Piplup, Whirlpool followed by Bide!"

The Whirlpool was evaporated by the powerful Bide and when it was done, it landed in front of Dawn in the usual pose.

_(Jessilina's Appeal Round Performance)_

Jesslina used James' Carnivine, just like when she entered the Jubilife Contest and they did a so-so job again.

_(After The Appeal Round's Finished)_

Once the appeal round performances were done, the judges had a hard time deciding, but they came to a decision.

"Here are the eight coordinators moving on!" announced Marian excitedly as she motioned for everyone to look at the big screen above her.

For the first time, Dawn was first and Jessilina was last. (No surprise there!)

"Let's give them a shuffle to see who's battling who!" said Marian excitedly as she looked up at the big screen.

Dawn was in the first battle and won it easily.

Jessilina was in the second battle and won it based on points with Mime Jr.

Dawn took the first semi-final match with ease again, along with Jessilina too with the second semi-final match.

So now, Dawn and Jessilina meet in the finals for the first time ever.

_(The Final Match Of The Sunyshore Contest)_

"Now, it's time for the finals. It's Dawn on my left and Jessilina on my right. 5 minutes on the clock and begin!" said Marian excitedly as she gave the signal to start as she looked between Dawn and Jessilina.

"Ambipom, Spotlight!"

"Mime Jr., Let's Go!"

"Ambipom, Swift!"

"Mime Jr., Tickle!"

The Swift hit first, almost knocking it out.

"Ambipom, Focus Punch!"

"Mime Jr., Mimic!"

The Focus Punch knocked Mime Jr. out with only 2:00 left on the clock.

"Mime Jr.'s out for the count. Ambipom's the winner and the winner of the Sunyshore Contest is Dawn!" announced Marian excitedly as Jessilina was being hauled off by a disguised James and Meowth.

When Mr. Contesta gave Dawn her ribbon, he said this to her: "I hear that this is your fifth ribbon and I expect a lot out of you and your pokemon at the Grand Festival."

"That's right. Thank you. Alright! We got the Sunyshore Ribbon!" said Dawn excitedly as she did her usual pose.

_(After The Sunyshore Contest Was Over)_

When the contest was over, Dawn found out that the Grand Festival was going to be held at Lake Acuity.

"Well, go right after Ash's gym battle tomorrow." said Brock as he was looking at the map.

"Then, let's get to bed so that tomorrow will come much quicker." said Ash and Dawn in unison.

_(In Alamos Town)_

Andrea was entering Alamos Town, when she saw Darkrai heading to the garden, where our heroes were shown in 'The Rise Of Darkrai' movie.

"_You're mine, Darkrai."_ said Andrea in her mind as she went after Darkrai.

As she approached Darkrai from behind, Darkrai turned around to face Andrea eye to eye as it had sensed her coming up behind her.

"_What do you want, human?"_ asked Darkrai telepathically to Andrea.

"I wanted to see if you would mind coming with me to help me and my two friends with something." replied Andrea as she was trying to trick Darkrai into coming with her.

"_What is it, human?"_ asked Darkrai again as it was wondering what 'help' she needed from it.

"It's to help our friend to sleep again." replied Andrea as she was still tricking Darkrai.

"_Ok. I'll come with you, human."_ said Darkrai as it was falling for the trap.

"Thanks, Darkrai. Go pokeball!" said Andrea as she threw the pokeball at Darkrai.

It didn't take long to capture Darkrai inside the pokeball.

"_You're finally mine, Darkrai."_ said Andrea in her mind as she was starting to leave to meet up with Michael and Xandor at the Mt. Coronet Stadium.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After getting her fifth ribbon and an immediate entry to the Sinnoh Grand Festival, our heroes are gonna wait one more day to see if Ash will be able to get the Beacon Badge from Volkner, the gym leader.

* * *

Once they had a good night's sleep, our heroes are on their way to the Sunyshore Gym for Ash's last badge.

They were about to enter the gym when, Volkner was coming out of the gym, on his way to the Sunyshore Lighthouse.

"Hey Volkner!" said Cynthia and Lucian in unison as they were trying to get his attention and it worked.

"Hey, Cynthia and Lucian. What are you doing here in Sunyshore City?" asked Volkner curiously as he went over to meet up with the gang.

"Well, we're here for our friend Ash to get his last badge to compete in the Sinnoh League." replied Cynthia as she motioned at Ash.

"Go on, Ash." whispered Lucian to Ash for him to challenge Volkner to a battle.

"Ok." whispered Ash as he stepped forward to challenge Volkner to a battle.

Cynthia backed away a little to give Ash a little room to challenge.

"Hey Volkner, I challenge you to a gym battle." said Ash.

"'Ok. I accept your challenge, Ash." said Volkner as he started to leave for the battlefield with the gang right behind him.

_(On The Battlefield)_

Once they got into their battle positions, the battle was ready to begin.

"This match between Volkner, the gym leader, and the challenger, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, is about to begin! Trainers ready?" asked the boy referee as he was looking between Volkner, on his right, and Ash, on his left.

"Yeah!" replied Ash and Volkner in unison.

"Then let the match begin!"

"Go Raichu!"

"Go Chimchar!"

"Raichu, Charge Beam!"

"Chimchar, Flamethrower!"

The attacks collided together in the middle of the battlefield, almost knocking both of them out.

"Raichu, Thunder!"

"Chimchar, Flame Wheel!"

The Flame Wheel and the Thunder cancelled each other out and knocked the two of them out.

"Chimchar and Raichu are unable to battle. It's a draw!"

"Go Ambipom!"

"Go Turtwig!"

"Ambipom, Thunderbolt!"

"Turtwig, Energy Ball!"

The attacks smashed into each other, but the Energy Ball pushed the Thunderbolt back and hit Ambipom.

"Ambipom, Iron Tail!"

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!"

The Razor Leaf hit Ambipom so hard that it knocked it out.

"Ambipom's unable to battle. Turtwig's the winner!"

"Go Octillery! Octillery, Charge Beam!"

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!"

The attacks hit both pokemon hard, but not hard enough to knock them out.

"Octillery, Octazooka!"

"Turtwig, Energy Ball!"

These last two attacks took both Octillery and Turtwig out.

"Octillery and Turtwig are unable to battle. It's another draw!"

"Go Luxray!"

"Go Pikachu!"

"Luxray, Thunder Fang!"

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

The Iron Tail sent the Thunder Fang right into Luxray's face. (No pun intended here!)

"Luxray, Iron Tail!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

The Thunderbolt hit Luxray before it could gather enough energy and almost knocked it out.

"Luxray, Charge Beam!"

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

This last attack from Pikachu sent Luxray flying and knocked it out.

"Luxray's unable to battle. Pikachu's the winner and the match goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" said the referee.

"You did a great job, Luxray. Return." said Volkner as he returned Luxray to its pokeball.

"Great job, Pikachu! You beat Luxray!" said Ash excitedly as he knew that he was going onto the Sinnoh League.

"Great job, Ash, and to prove that you and your pokemon have beaten my pokemon and I, we give you the Beacon Badge." said Volkner as he was handing Ash the Beacon Badge.

"Thanks a lot, Volkner. Alright! We won the Beacon Badge!" said Ash excitedly as he did his usual pose.

"Now onto Lake Acuity for Dawn's Grand Festival and for Ash…" said Brock as he was letting Cynthia tell them where the Sinnoh League is going to be.

"And for Ash, Mount Coronet for the Sinnoh League." continued Cynthia for Brock as she told them where it would be.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" said the gang in unison as they were leaving the gym.

_(With Michael And Xandor)_

"Michael, not too long now." said Xandor as they were approaching the Lost Tower to stop David and Parker from resurrecting the Council of Pokelantis.

They were running in the woods to the Lost Tower, a stone tower with a giant staircase to the top, which was a lone room that held a stone slab as a bed and a small pedestal next to it.

"Yeah and the quicker we get there, the quicker we won't have to worry about the Council anymore." said Michael in agreement.

_(With David And Parker)_

"Let's hurry, Parker. Because the Guardians will be here any minute now." said David as he was trying to get Parker to hurry up.

"Yeah and done. Let's get this resurrecting underway, David." said Parker as he was finishing up the preparations.

_(Back With Michael And Xandor)_

"Hey Xandor, what's that light up there?" asked Michael as they were near the bottom of the Lost Tower.

"They must be starting to resurrect the Council. Hurry!" replied Xandor as he was starting to race up the stairs.

"Yeah." said Michael as he was following Xandor.

_(Back With David And Parker)_

"It's almost done. That's good." said David as they were watching the Council come back to life.

"Stop!" said Michael and Xandor in unison as they reached the top of the tower, but it was too late.

Just as they closed their eyes because of the blinding white light, the Council came back to life, body and soul and the same as they had been personality-wise.

"I can't believe that we did it!" said David and Parker in unison as they were celebrating the resurrection of the Council of Pokelantis.

"I can't believe that we couldn't stop them." said Michael and Xandor in unison in a sad tone.

"Let's get out of here, Michael." said Xandor as he was starting to leave to go to Mt. Coronet to meet up with Andrea.

"Ok, Xandor. Right behind you." said Michael as he was following Xandor.

They left without another word and they didn't say anything to each other as they left the Lost Tower.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After receiving the Beacon Badge, our heroes continue on their way to Lake Acuity and Mt. Coronet.

* * *

**And the Council of Pokelantis! Well, that was Chapter 15. Hopefully, I'll have Chapter 16 done sometime this weekend. Don't forget about the poll on my profile because it hits a certain number, it's out of here! See you around!**

**AshKetchumForever-Action first--Think later!**


	16. Another Nightmare With The King!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon except...**

**

* * *

****Chapter 16: Another Revealing Nightmare With The King!**

A day after leaving Sunyshore City for Lake Acuity and Mt. Coronet, our heroes stop for the night.

Again, everyone was dreaming about achieving their goals and a world without the King in it, but poor Ash was having another nightmare about the King taking over the world.

_(In Ash's Nightmare)_

Ash was dreaming about the King sealing Ash's aura in the Stone Pokeball forever and ordering his Bulbasaur to destroy it by using Solarbeam.

Bulbasaur wasn't sure what to do, but the King casted an obedience spell on it and it incinerated the Pokeball, completely destroying it.

Ash was in shock from the nightmare.

He didn't know what to say to the King, until he came in and ended the dream.

"Is that what you're going to do to my aura when you take over the world?" asked Ash to the King after getting over his shock.

"No, Ash. That was your mind playing tricks with you." replied the King deviously, which Ash detected in his voice, but didn't mention it.

"OK, but I still don't trust you." said Ash as he wasn't letting the King know that he knew the deviousness in the King's voice as he said that.

"Whatever you say Ash, but I think that you'll trust me after this." said the King as he was walking over to Ash, who a few feet from the King.

Ash tried to back away from him as he was approaching him, buy he couldn't move his arms or legs at all.

"Hey! Why can't I move?" asked Ash as he was almost yelling at the King as he was struggling to get free.

"I casted a spell on your arms and legs so that you wouldn't move while I do this to you." replied the King as he was starting to cast a spell in his own right hand.

Once he finished the spell, he pushed Ash down onto his back, onto the ground, and he put his hand above Ash's stomach and let the spell and the tattoo do its thing.

_(In The Real World)_

Ash's stomach was glowing inside of his sleeping bag and he was clutching it hard even though he was in the sleeping bag.

He gave out a blood-curdling scream that woke up the others.

"What was that? Who screamed?" asked Max as he was a little bit asleep.

"Look at Ash for that answer." replied Dawn as she was looking at Ash as he was curled up inside of his sleeping bag.

"What's glowing inside of it?" asked May as she was seeing the light come from inside it.

"I don't know, but we should wake him up and see if we can get an answer out of him." said Brock as he was finally getting up to wake Ash up.

_(Back In Ash's Nightmare)_

"What are you doing to me?" asked Ash as he was starting to feel some back from the tattoo absorbing the spell.

When the tattoo finished absorbing the spell, Ash started to feel a little strange in his stomach.

"Well, I'll see you soon, Ash." said the King as he was leaving Ash by himself.

Ash didn't yell after the King like he normally does because he was trying to figure out what the King did with the spell that the tattoo absorbed, but he never found out what.

_(Back In The Real World)_

Ash's stomach stopped glowing after a couple of minutes of the others trying to wake him up.

"Ash, wake up!" said Misty and Cynthia in unison.

Pikachu couldn't wait for Ash to wake up by himself so I shocked Ash and that woke him up in an instant.

When Ash woke up, he let out a scream that wasn't as loud as before and was sweating heavily again.

"Ash, are you ok?" asked Brandon as he was trying not to sound worried about Ash.

"Yeah, it was just another nightmare, that's all." replied Ash.

"Ok." said the others in unison under their breathes to each other as they went back to their sleeping bags, but they couldn't go back to sleep.

_(With Andrea)_

"_I wonder what's taking Michael and Xandor so long to get here. Oh well, more time for me to have fun by myself."_ said Andrea in her mind as she was wondering about where Michael and Xandor might be.

_(Back With The Gang)_

Once they got themselves ready for breakfast, our heroes are gonna be surprised at what happens next.

* * *

After Ash had another nightmare with the King, our heroes are helping Brock finish up making their breakfast.

When their breakfast was ready, everyone sat down to east, but something wasn't right with Ash.

He looked down at his breakfast with a strange feeling in his stomach, like he didn't want to eat, but once it was gone, Ash felt like he could eat two of his own Tauros.

This happened because of the King's spell last night in the nightmare.

Once Ash got done with his first serving, he immediately went back for a second helping.

Everyone thought that his was weird beyond belief; even Ash thought it was weird too.

As soon as he sat back down and started eating again, Brandon asked him a question.

"So, Ash, what was the nightmare all about last night?" asked Brandon as he was curious to see what kind of an answer he could get out of Ash.

Ash almost choked when Brandon asked that, but thankfully, it was only soup.

"Oh, just another 'The King taking over the world' nightmare, that's all. Why?" replied Ash as he was half lying and making a question of his own.

"I was just wondering because you're eating a lot more than you usually do." said Brandon as he was pointing out the obvious for Ash.

Everyone was shocked, except Ash, when he said that.

Ash stopped in his tracks and found that he was heading for a third helping of breakfast.

He dropped the plate, lucky for him it was plastic, and fell to the ground on his knees and grabbed his head.

"Oh no! What has the King done to me?" yelled out Ash as he was still holding onto his head.

"What are you talking about, Ash?" asked Brock.

"The King casted a spell in the nightmare and I couldn't understand what he did to me by placing his hand above my stomach at all." replied Ash as he was getting up off of the ground.

"It looks like the King's starting to make your body home for when he takes over." explained Brandon in a serious voice as he was looking at Ash, who had a slight scared look on his face.

"Oh great! That's just what I wanted o hear." said Ash sarcastically.

It made the girls giggle a little, but Max thought otherwise.

"Just what we wanted to know about." said Max as he was rolling his eyes.

"Yeah." said the others, who were still at the table, as they were agreeing with him.

_(With Michael And Xandor)_

"What are we going to tell Andrea when we get to Mt. Coronet, Xandor?" asked Michael on their way to Mt. Coronet.

"Well, Michael, I don't know. Why don't we see how Andrea is and then, we'll tell her." replied Xandor as he was trying to find a way to keep Andrea happy when they tell her about the Council coming back to life.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After finding out why Ash was acting strange, our heroes continue on their way to Lake Acuity and Mt. Coronet.

* * *

Still continuing on their way to Lake Acuity, our heroes stop to help Dawn train for the Grand Festival in a small open field with rocks here and there, but where's Ash and Brandon?

_(With Ash And Brandon)_

Brandon was looking at Ash's tattoo's photos from before and now looking at it on Ash as he was still trying to figure out a way to stop the King.

So pretty much it was boring with the gang; so let's catch up with the three guardians at Mt. Coronet.

_(With The Guardians)_

Andrea was still waiting for Michael and Xandor to get back to the Mt. Coronet Stadium to tell them that Darkrai is on their side.

A few minutes later, Michael and Xandor showed up with disappointed looks on their faces.

"Were you able to stop them from resurrecting the Council?" asked Andrea excitedly.

Michael and Xandor looked at each other, trying to figure out who was going to tell her, before they answered.

"We were too late. They had already resurrected Holy, Logan, Miranda, Zach, and Ace juts as we were getting there." replied the two of them in unison.

"So Andrea, did you capture Darkrai yet?" asked Michael as he was hoping that she failed as they did.

"I sure did. It was pretty easy to capture it." replied Andrea proudly as she crushed Michael's hopes.

"That's good, Andrea, but we mustn't tell Kashton that Holy and the Council have been resurrected or he'll kill us for sure." said Xandor as he was pointing out what Kashton would do to them for not stopping the Council's resurrection.

"Well, Xandor, how do we tell him if he's on his way to Lake Acuity for that Dawn girl?" asked Andrea.

"How did you find that out?" asked Michael as he was making a question of his own.

"I almost ran into him when I was on my way here from Alamos Town." replied Andrea.

"Well, now that we know that much, I think that we should attack Ash and see if we can bring Kashton to the surface. Then Andrea will join up with them after that Grand Festival is over and help Kashton come to the surface 3 more times after we attack him and hopefully, that will be the start of the Sinnoh League here at the Stadium and give him this special drink mix that will strengthen Kashton to take over the remaining 5 times. Michael will go and find Kashton's staff and I will go to the Lost Tower and prepare for the ceremony to bring our highness back to rule the world. Is that understood?" said Xandor as he was handing Andrea the special drink mix and explaining the plan.

"Ok, Xandor. That sounds like a good idea, so let's go!" said Andrea and Michael in unison.

Let's check back in with the gang.

_(Back With The Gang)_

As the guardians head to attack Ash, our heroes are wrapping up Dawn's training session so that they can continue on their way to Lake Acuity.

* * *

Only a day from Lake Acuity and the Grand Festival, our heroes are taking a break from traveling, but what happens next will surprise the heck out of the gang.

Let's see what the guardians are doing.

_(With The Guardians)_

"Are you ready, Andrea?" asked Xandor as she was releasing Darkrai from its pokeball.

"Yeah, Get ready, Darkrai." replied Andrea.

"_Ok."_ said Darkrai as it was getting ready.

"Are you ready, Michael?" asked Xandor as he was turning to Michael.

"Let me at him because I want out king back now!" replied Michael as he was waiting impatiently to meet their king again.

Andrea and Xandor just looked at each other and then, they rolled their eyes when they saw Michael again.

_(Back With The Gang)_

"I think I'll go for a walk. Does anyone want to join me?" asked Brock.

"I'll go with you because I need a friend's opinion on something." replied Brandon.

Before they left, Brandon and Brock told the gang that they would be gone for 20 minutes, and then, they left for a nice little talk together. (No yoai intended!)

_(10 Minutes Later)_

A Darkrai came out of nowhere behind the gang.

"_Now Darkrai, Dark Void on everyone except the one with the Pikachu!"_ said Andrea as she was commanding Darkrai with telepathy.

It started to use Dark Void on everyone and their pokemon to sleep except Ash.

"_Darkrai? Could it be the same one from Alamos Town?"_ asked Ash in his mind as he was looking at Darkrai.

Then a voice came out from somewhere in the forest.

"Darkrai, return!" said Andrea from behind a tree.

Ash didn't know where the voice came from, but it sounded very familiar.

Just as Ash turned around to wake the others, he almost ran into Xandor, who had sneaked up behind Ash as he was wondering about the Darkrai that appeared not too long ago.

He backed away and ran into Michael, who had sneaked up behind him when he was starting to back away from Xandor.

Then he turned to run away again, but he was blocked by Andrea, who sneaked up behind him when he ran into Michael.

"What are you doing here and what do you want from me?" yelled Ash to the guardians.

"Oh, we just want our King back, Ash." said Xandor as he was scaring Ash because Xandor knew his name.

Ash couldn't believe that the odds were against him because it was 3 to 1 and it was in the guardians favor, but he decided to take them down one at a time.

He started to run towards Michael to attack him, but Michael charged at him full speed.

Ash stopped in his tracks as Michael came running and punched Ash hard in the stomach.

Andrea ran over to Michael to give him a piece of her mind.

"Michael! You didn't have to hit him that hard!" yelled Andrea in his face.

"Sorry, Andrea!" said Michael sarcastically back in her face.

"Stop it, you two! Just look at him. He could be badly hurt while you two are fighting over something so stupid as how hard Michael hit him!" said Xandor as he was breaking up the fight between Andrea and Michael while he was looking at Ash because he wasn't moving at all.

After the argument was over, Ash got back up, which made the guardians very happy to see that he was ok, but he wasn't himself anymore.

"Why did you do that to my future body, Michael, or should I say, Mesprit?" asked the King angrily while he was clutching his stomach, but after a minute, he let go of his stomach.

"Kashton, I'm sorry for Michael's actions against your future body." said Andrea as she was bowing to Kashton while Michael was rolling his eyes behind her.

"I know he didn't mean it because he was anxious to see me again, Andrea or Azelf." said the King.

"Kashton, what do you want us to do for you?" asked Xandor.

"There are two things. One, resurrect Garret or Giratina and Shayret or Shaymin to help with the ceremony to bring me back and two, release some of my aura from the Stone Pokeball so that I'm another step closer to coming back, Xandor or Uxie." replied Kashton.

_(With Brock And Brandon)_

While that was going on, Brock and Brandon had just returned from their walk, when they saw Ash talking to the three guardians and handing Xandor the Stone Pokeball.

"Who are they, Brandon?" asked Brock.

"I don't know, but let's see what they want, Brock." replied Brandon.

_(Back With The Guardians)_

Xandor had just released some of Kashton's aura into Ash's body.

When that was over with, Xandor explained their plans to Kashton, but Kashton heard something in the bushes.

"Thank you. Now go. I think someone or something's watching us. I'll meet Andrea after that stupid Grand Festival's over and I'll see you two at the Lost Tower in two weeks from now." said Kashton.

"Ok, Kashton. We'll see you soon, your highness." said the three guardians in unison.

When Brock and Brandon saw them leave, they immediately ran out of their hiding spot in the bushes."

"Stop them, Ash! Don't let them…" yelled Brock, who saw that it was the King.

Once Brandon woke everyone up, the King started to say something to them.

"12 down and 8 to go. Good luck in saving your friend, Ash, because you'll need it for sure." said the King as he was leaving Ash's body.

Ash fell to the ground almost unconscious, but when the gang got there, they heard a noise.

Brandon and Brock rolled Ash over and found that the noise was and the noise was Ash, gasping for air.

"Help…Me…" said Ash in between gasps before falling unconscious.

Brandon opened his jacket and lifted his shirt to reveal the tattoo growing over his chest and started to go down his legs, even though, they couldn't see it.

The tattoo ended right where the sleeves and the neckline of his T-shirt end and right above his knees too.

After the guardians tell Kashton their plans, our heroes are about to arrive at Lake Acuity.

* * *

**Michael, Xandor, Andrea, the names Kashton, Shayret, and Garret and the Council of Pokelantis. Well, that was Chapter 16. Told you that I would have it up sometime this weekend! XP See ya later!**

**AshKetchumForever-Action first--Think later!**


	17. Dawn's First Grand Festival Begins!

**I don't own Pokemon or any characters except...**

**

* * *

****Chapter 17: Dawn's First Grand Festival Begins!**

After arriving at Lake Acuity, our heroes are helping Dawn get over being nervous until, Dawn's Mom, Johanna, show's up to help her daughter out like mom's always do.

"Dawn, if you're nervous, than your pokemon will be nervous." said Johanna as she was walking into the room of the awaiting coordinators.

Dawn turned around and when she saw her mom, she ran over to give her a hug.

"Mom, you made it! Thanks, Mom!" said Dawn as she was hugging her mother.

"What pokemon will you use for the double performance round, Dawn?" asked Johanna.

The gang waited to hear what her two pokemon were too since they were interested in her strategy as well.

"I'll probably use Piplup and Pachirisu with better combinations this time." replied Dawn happily.

"That sounds like a good plan to me." said Johanna as happily as Dawn, if not more.

"Well, we should get to our seats before the Grand Festival begins." said Brock as he was starting to leave with others.

"Ok. Good luck, Dawn." said Johanna as she was starting to leave too.

"Thanks, Mom." said Dawn as they were leaving.

Once they got to their seats, the Grand Festival began.

_(Zoey's Appeal Double Performance)_

Zoey started the double performance appeal round with Misdreavus and Shellos and did a beautiful display.

_(Nando's Appeal Double Performance)_

Nando was next and put on a brilliant performance with Kricketune and Roselia.

_(Kenny's Appeal Double Performance)_

Kenny was next and used Alakazam and Breloom to put on stunning performance with them and anybody would agree that it was very stunning!

_(Dawn's Appeal Double Performance)_

Dawn was up and she was still pretty nervous too.

"Piplup and Pachirisu, Spotlight!"

They came out and landed perfectly on the stage.

"Pachirisu, Sweet Kiss and Piplup, Bubblebeam!"

Once the Sweet Kiss was released, the Bubblebeam trapped it inside of the bubbles.

"Piplup, Peck and Pachirisu, spark to destroy the Bubblebeam and Sweet Kiss!"

The Peck and Spark beautifully destroyed them together.

"Piplup, Whirlpool and Pachirisu, jump into the Whirlpool and use Discharge!"

The Whirlpool was lit up like it was releasing the Discharge instead of Pachirisu.

"Piplup, Bide, and Pachirisu, Spark to destroy the Whirlpool and the Discharge!"

The two attacks destroyed the Whirlpool and the Discharge beautifully at once and again landed perfectly afterwards.

_(In The Coordinator's Waiting Room)_

As soon as Dawn entered the coordinator's waiting room, Kenny, Nando, who likes to compete in both contests and gym battles, and Zoey congratulated her for a wonderful performance.

"Thanks, guys. Now let's hope that it was good enough to make it into the 2nd round." said Dawn.

After a couple of minutes of waiting for the judges to decide on who's going into the 2nd round, Marian finally came out to announce the sixteen coordinators moving on.

"Here are the sixteen coordinators moving onto the 2nd round!" announced Marian excitedly as she pointed to the big screen above her.

When the results were up, everyone was shocked to see who was first.

Dawn was first, Zoey was second, Nando was third, and, of course, Kenny was fourth.

When the battles were up, Dawn was in the first battle and she was facing Robert, who won the Hoenn Cup, Zoey was in the second battle and she was facing Shannon, a coordinator from Kanto, Nando was in the third battle and he was facing Bruce, a coordinator from Johto, and Kenny was in fourth and he was facing Sophie, another coordinator from Sinnoh for the second round.

* * *

After they found out that all four of them are going onto the second round, our heroes are waiting impatiently for the winner to emerge from the sixteen coordinators that were moving on, but the question on everyone's mind is this: Who will move onto the final eight in the Grand Festival?

After finding out who they're battling in the 2nd round, our heroes are helping Dawn get ready for her match with Robert.

Before they finished telling her about him, Marian announced that the judges are ready to begin the 2nd round.

Since Dawn was in the first battle, she had to hurry and get to the stage before they gave the match to Robert by forfeit.

_(Dawn's Second Round Battle)_

Robert was using his Claydol and Milotic against Dawn's Ambipom and Buneary.

The battle was tough and crazy at the same time with both pokemon hitting each other at the same time every now and then, but both Claydol and Milotic were knocked out.

"With only 2 seconds left on the clock, Dawn wins it!" announced Marian excitedly as she pointed to Dawn.

"Good job, Ambipom and Buneary." said Dawn as she hugged them before returning them to their pokeballs and returning to the coordinator's waiting room.

_(Zoey's Second Round Battle)_

Zoey won her match easily with Glameow and Finneon against Shannon's Golduck and Pikachu with a minute left on the clock.

_(Nando's Second Round Battle)_

Nando won his match easily with Sunflora and Roselia against Bruce's Vaporeon and Feraligatr with 2 minutes left on the clock.

_(Kenny's Second Round Battle)_

Kenny won his match with a little trouble, but he pulled out of it with Prinplup and Alakazam against Sophie's Jolteon and Ghastly based on the points that were left.

_(In The Coordinator's Waiting Room)_

Once Zoey, Kenny, and Nando won their matches, the next round of battles brought Dawn and Kenny to face each other once again.

"Well, this should be a good match. What do you say, Zoey?" asked Nando as he was looking at her.

"I agree with you on that, Nando." replied Zoey.

_(The Battle Between Dawn And Kenny)_

"Now it's Dawn on my right and Kenny on my left for a spot in the final four. 5 minutes on the clock and begin!" announced Marian excitedly.

"Ambipom and Pachirisu, Spotlight!"

"Breloom and Prinplup, Go!"

"Ambipom, Swift followed by Double Hit and Pachirisu, Sweet Kiss followed by Discharge!"

"Breloom, Energy Ball followed by Mach Punch and Prinplup, Bubblebeam followed by Drill Peck!"

Ambipom's attacks took Breloom out in a matter of minutes and Pachirisu did the exact same thing to Prinplup too.

"With 2 minutes and 30 seconds left on the clock, Ambipom and Pachirisu help move Dawn into the final four!" announced Marian excitedly.

"I can't believe it, Ambipom and Pachirisu. We made it to the final four." said Dawn.

Once the other three battles were done, Dawn was shocked that her next opponent was gonna be Zoey for going into the final two.

_(The Battle Between Dawn And Zoey)_

"Good luck, Zoey." said Dawn.

"Good luck, Dawn." said Zoey before the match.

"It's Dawn on my left and Zoey on my right for the first semi-final match. 5 minutes on the clock and begin!" announced Marian excitedly.

"Buneary and Pachirisu, Spotlight!"

"Glameow and Shellos, Curtain!"

"Buneary, Ice Beam and Pachirisu, Discharge!"

"Glameow, Secret Power and Shellos, Mud Bomb!"

The four attacks smashed into each other in the middle of the battlefield and created a giant smoke cloud over the battlefield.

"Buneary, Pachirisu, no!"

"Glameow, Shellos, no!"

Who will win and move onto the finals?

* * *

Last time, Dawn was facing Zoey for a spot in the finals when their pokemon's first attacks collided to create a giant smokescreen over the battlefield.

Who will move on?

Let's find out!

_(The Battle Between Dawn And Zoey)_

The smoke cloud had just lifted when both Dawn and Zoey noticed that their pokemon couldn't take another attack.

"Buneary, Dizzy Punch followed by Bounce and Pachirisu, Sweet Kiss followed by Spark!"

"Glameow, Fury Swipe followed by Shadow Claw and Shellos, Water Pulse followed by Water Gun!"

Buneary's and Pachirisu's attacks knocked Glameow and Shellos out in a flash.

"With only a minute left, Dawn's the winner and she's moving onto the finals!" announced Marian.

"Alright! I can't believe it that we're going into the finals in our first Grand Festival and I'm going up against Nando for the Sinnoh Ribbon Cup too." said Dawn after watching Nando get into the finals.

_(The Final Battle Of The Sinnoh Grand Festival)_

"Good luck, Nando." said Dawn.

"Good luck to you too, Dawn." said Nando before the match.

"Now, it's time for the finals. It's Dawn on my right and Nando on my left. 5 minutes on the clock and begin!" announced Marian excitedly.

"Ambipom and Piplup, Spotlight!"

"Roselia and Sunflora, Go!"

"Ambipom, Double Team followed by Focus Punch, and Piplup, Bubblebeam followed by Peck!"

"Roselia, Mega Drain followed by Petal Dance, and Sunflora, Leech Seed followed by Grass Whistle!"

Ambipom's and Piplup's attacks hit both Roselia and Sunflora hard, but not hard enough to knock them out.

"Ambipom, Swift followed by Double Hit, and Piplup, Whirlpool followed by Bide!"

"Roselia, Sunny Day followed by Solarbeam, and Sunflora, Petal Dance followed by Solarbeam!"

The Double Hit pushed back the Solarbeam and knocked Roselia out.

The Bide again pushed the Solarbeam back and hit Sunflora hard enough to knock it out.

"With no time left and both of Nando's pokemon out, Ambipom and Piplup are the winners and that means that the Sinnoh Ribbon Cup goes to Dawn!" announced Marian excitedly.

"Alright! We won the Grand Festival in our first try!" said Dawn as she was over excited.

When Mr. Contesta gave Dawn her Ribbon Cup, he said something that almost made her cry.

"Congratulations, Dawn. I also hear that this is your very first Grand Festival and we are all proud of you." said Mr. Contesta.

_(With The Others)_

"I can't believe that my Dawn won the Ribbon Cup in on shot!" said Johanna as she was over excited as well.

"Brock, you know she sounds a lot like Mom when she's heard that I've done something great." whispered Ash.

"I think you're right about that." whispered Brock back.

_(At The Pokemon Center)_

When the Grand Festival was done, Brock, Brandon, Cynthia, Lucian, and Johanna were planning on a surprise party for Dawn and the rest of the gang would bring here to the Lake Acuity ruins for it.

_(With Team Galactic)_

"Great! We have the next piece of the puzzle. Now, let's head to the Mt. Coronet Ruins and get the final piece of the puzzle. Let's move out!" said Saturn as he was leaving with the puzzle piece in his hand.

"Yes sir!" said the two grunts in unison as they followed him out of the Ruins.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"Are you ready to put the plan into action tomorrow, you two?" asked Jessie as she was looking at James and Meowth.

"Yeah!" replied James and Meowth in unison.

"Then, we'll be rich after tomorrow! Yeah!" said Team Rocket in unison as they left the scene.

Okaay, whatever.

_(Back At The Pokemon Center)_

After winning the Sinnoh Ribbon Cup, our heroes are gonna surprise Dawn at the Ruins, but what is Team Rocket planning on to do to the surprise party for Dawn?

* * *

Once the Grand Festival celebration party was planned and the decorations were put up by the Ruins, our heroes are leading Dawn to her surprise party, but will Team Rocket crash the surprise party?

Let's find out now!

_(At The Ruins With The Gang)_

"Are we there yet?" asked Dawn as she was blindfolded from seeing the decorations.

"We're almost there and here we are. You can go ahead and take your blindfold off, Dawn." replied Johanna as she was getting into position.

When Dawn took off her blindfold, she put her hands over her mouth and screamed into her hands, to suppress her scream, in shock.

"How did you do all of this?" asked Dawn.

"We had the others keep you busy all day while we were doing this while we were doing this." replied Cynthia.

"Then, let's get this party started!" yelled Dawn.

"Hey, we can't have a party without our pokemon. Come on out, everyone!" said Ash as the others joined him.

_(On A Bush Not Far From The Gang)_

While the party got underway, a certain person's watching from the shadows for their chance to join the gang.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"Ready?" asked Jessie as she was looking at James and Meowth.

"Yeah and the machine's raring and ready to go." replied Meowth.

"And the net too." said James.

_(Back At The Ruins With The Gang)_

In the middle of the party, Max started to play with Pikachu and Skitty when all of a sudden, a net snatched up Max and all of the pokemon.

"Team Rocket! Give me back my brother this instant!" yelled May.

"Fat chance, twerpette. We're not going to let the smallest twerp out and risk letting the pokemon out. Sorry!" yelled Team Rocket.

"Team Rocket, get back here!" yelled Ash as he was running after Team Rocket.

As he was running to catch up to them, he almost ran into Lake Acuity, but lucky for Ash, Brock and Brandon stopped him before going in.

"I got to think of something, but what? I know. Everyone, use your best attack to break the net!" said Max as he was thinking of an idea.

They did what Max told them and the net broke, but the net broke right when they were flying over Lake Acuity and they were heading for the middle of the lake.

Blaziken, Venusaur, Beautifly, Staravia, Solrock, and Happiny helped the fire and rock types to safety on land, but Venusaur and Happiny fell into the water as they threw Chimchar and Sudowoodo to safety.

"May!" yelled Max before hitting the water hard, knocking him out.

"Max!" yelled May in response.

"I can't believe that you didn't reinforce it again, Meowth!" yelled Jessie and James in unison.

"Like I said last time, we're outta money again." said Meowth.

While Team Rocket was fighting themselves, Ash jumped into the lake and started to swim to rescue Max, but what happens next, Ash didn't see or feel coming at all.

When he was almost to Max, who was floating on the water, he stopped swimming for a second because the King came back and he continued to Max.

Once he reached Max, he put him on his back and grabbed onto Buizel for a lift back since he had Max on his back.

"Ash?" asked Max as he was opening his eyes a little, but he fell unconscious afterwards.

"_Why does everyone think that I'm Ash? Probably because I'm in his body."_ said the King in his mind.

When they got to the edge of the lake, the King put Max down safely on the grass on his back and was on his hands and knees panting like crazy.

Brock came to see how Ash was after that exhausting swim, but again, he realized that it wasn't Ash.

"13 down and 7 to go. See you soon." said the King as he was leaving Ash's body.

Ash fell unconscious too, but Max was already waking up.

"Max, are you ok?" asked May.

"Yeah, but how did I…Oh." replied Max as he realized that Ash saved him when he saw Ash lying right next to him, on his stomach.

Since it was so dark where the King pulled both Ash and Max to, the others didn't notice that the tattoo was, again, growing, but it stopped at his elbows and a little above his T-shirt.

"Pikachu, can you use a Thunderbolt on Team Rocket for us?" asked Misty.

Pikachu nodded its head and shocked them to blast them off as they were saying the usual: "Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Is Ash ok, Brock?" asked Dawn.

"Yeah. He's fine, but the tattoo's grown more into sight by coming out of his T-shirt now." replied Brock.

After getting attacked by Team Rocket and the King reappearing, our heroes are gonna get a good night's sleep and continue on their way to Mt. Coronet after saying goodbye to Johanna.

* * *

**...Sophie, Bruce, and Shannon. Well, here's Chapter 17. We're almmost to the end of this story. :( But don't worry, there will be tons more stories from me. :) Just a couple of more days of school and then, I'll be able to work on finishing this and starting a new story over the summer. Yeah. See ya later!**

**AshKetchumForever-Action first-Think later!**


	18. The Guardian Joins The Gang!

**I don't own Pokemon, but I do own some of the characters.**

**

* * *

****Chapter 18: The Guardian Joins The Gang!**

Continuing on their way to Mt. Coronet, our heroes are gonna get a surprise and a trusted member of the guardians joining them.

Ash saw something that looked like a Flamethrower up ahead and thought that it was another training camp.

When they got closer to where the battle was, the trainers or trainer was gone, but the marks on the ground told them that the battle was tense.

Just as the gang turned to continue on the road, a girl with brown hair, in the shape of Bianca's from Pokemon Heroes, and clothes that looked a lot like Bianca's, and her Infernape surprised them by coming out of the forest.

Everyone jumped backward and yelled a little when they saw her.

"Hi, my name's Ash. Man, I really like your Infernape." said Ash as he was thinking about how strong the Infernape must be.

"Hi, my name's Ashley and thanks for the compliment." said Ashley, who's really Andrea in disguise.

"Nice to meet you, Ashley. Are you on your way to Mt. Coronet to compete in the Sinnoh League?" asked Ash curiously.

"Well, I'm going to Mt. Coronet, but I'm not competing because I just started training pokemon 2 months ago." replied Ashley as she was somewhat sad about not competing.

"Oh, ok. Hey, I know! How about you join us since all of us are going to the same place and all?" asked Ash.

"Sure. If your friends don't mind, Ash." replied Ashley.

"What do you think, guys?" asked Ash.

"I think that's a great idea, Ash, but what about your condition?" asked Brock as she was making his own question.

"Don't worry, Brock. I think that I can handle it." replied Ash.

"And if that doesn't work, I have this and more to help with controlling it." said Dawn as she was pulling out a new T-shirt with longer sleeves for Ash.

"Wow! Thanks, Dawn!" said Ash as he was going into the forest a little to change shirts.

_(With The Guardians)_

"Andrea has joined the group so she just has to give Kashton the drink and wait for him to come back 5 more times along with grabbing the Stone Pokeball and then, we can start to resurrection of our king." said Xandor excitedly.

"And I got the staff so we don't have to worry about trying to find it either." said Michael as he as entering the room where Xandor was.

They laughed with a little bit of evil in their laughs.

_(Back With The Gang)_

When Ash returned with the new shirt on and the old one in his backpack, our heroes, now including Ashley, continue on their way to Mt. Coronet.

* * *

Still on their way to Mt. Coronet, our heroes stop to help Ash train for the Sinnoh League in a small open field with trees surrounding it.

While everyone, except Max, used all of their pokemon to battle Ash's team, Hunter J interrupted the training session by freezing Regirock, Registeel, and Regice completely.

"Hunter J, give Brandon his pokemon back now!" yelled Ash.

"I don't think so, kid. Ok, minions, get the three pokemon and let's get out of here!" commanded J.

While her minions were putting Regirock in, Ash ran over to Registeel to release it, but one of the commanders for her released a Golbat and told it to use Steel Wing on Ash.

The Steel Wing knocked Ash back by the gang, but when he got back up, the King took over again.

"Hunter J, let go of the pokemon now or I will use force." said the King angrily.

The powerful aura that he gave out was incredibly strong.

"You got guts, kid, but I won't give up these legendary pokemon for anything in the world!" said J raising her voice at the end.

"Ok. Then force it is. Pikachu, super maximum Thunderbolt!" said the King.

His aura that he gave out gave Pikachu a super charge.

The Thunderbolt sent J and her goons flying.

"I'll get you yet!" yelled J as she flew out of sight.

"King, how did you do that with Pikachu?" asked Dawn as she had never seen Pikachu do that before.

"Never mind, but 14 down and 6 to go. I hope you enjoy having you friend Ash around because when I'm done, you won't see him ever again." said the King as he was leaving his future body.

Both Ash and Pikachu fell unconscious at the same time.

This time, the tattoo stopped just below his elbows and little bit more up his neck.

_(With The Guardians)_

"_Xandor, Michael, Kashton has just appeared again and boy, was he in a bad mood. He gave out a powerful aura that I could feel. I better go before the others leave without me."_ said Ashley/Andrea telepathically to Xandor and Michael.

"Yes! Kashton has started to get a little bit more control of Ash and he's pretty ready to get Ash's spirit out of that body too." said Xandor as he was starting to get ready to resurrect Garret and Shayret.

"Yeah, and if Andrea can give the special drink to Ash when he's only five away, then we'll have our king back in no time." said Michael as he was helping Xandor get ready for the resurrection.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After Hunter J tried to steal Brandon's pokemon, our heroes are much closer to Mt. Coronet than ever.

Only a day from arriving at the Mt. Coronet Stadium, our heroes are getting a good night's sleep for tomorrow's travel.

* * *

Once again, everyone was dreaming about a peaceful world without the King in it and once again, poor Ash was having another nightmare.

_(In Ash's Nightmare)_

He was dreaming about the King destroying all of the towns and cities, including his own hometown of Pallet Town, in Kanto.

Again, the King stopped the nightmare because he saw that Ash couldn't take it anymore.

"I can't believe that you would do that to Kanto." said Ash as he was still in shock.

"Like I told you before, that was your mind playing tricks on you, Ash." said the King as he was still trying to deceive Ash.

"Yeah, just like you told me that last time and then, got blamed for eating too much just like you!" yelled Ash as he was starting to get angry with the King.

"Sorry, Ash. I didn't mean to have you get blamed for my actions." said the King in his deceiving voice again. (Oh yeah, NOT!)

"Ok, King. Oh, I've been wondering for a while now, what's your real name?" asked Ash curiously as he was not trusting the King to whatever he was up to.

"Well, my real name is Kashton. So whenever you're talking to me or talking about me, you will address me by Kashton instead of the King or King. Ok, Ash?" asked Kashton as he was making sure that Ash for the picture.

Ash was shocked at how familiar that name was to him.

_(In The Real World)_

Ash was starting to toss and turn because of how Kashton told him his own name.

Then he let out a few moans and groans that were loud enough to wake up the others in a hurry.

"Who's making all of the moans and groans?" asked Max sleepily.

"I think it's Ash. He must be having another nightmare with the King. Let's hurry and wake him up." said Brock as he was heading to try to wake Ash up, but May beat him to Ash.

_(Back In Ash's Nightmare)_

Ash had just recovered from the shock of learning Kashton's real name.

"Ok, Kashton, but what will happen if I don't call you by your name?" asked Ash as he was starting to worry about what Kashton had up his sleeves for him.

"You'll see in time, Ash, you'll see." replied Kashton as he was leaving Ash's nightmare.

"Stop!" yelled Ash, but Kashton disappeared into the darkness because Ash was waking up.

_(Back In The Real World)_

"Ash, come on, WAKE UP!" yelled May in his face.

It didn't take Ash long to comeback to the real world.

Ash woke up with a scream, but he wasn't sweating as heavily as before.

"Ash, what was the matter? You look like you just saw a ghost." asked Misty.

"I didn't see a ghost, but another nightmare with the King." replied Ash as he was calming down.

All of a sudden, he felt a sudden and sharp pain in his stomach.

"But I mean Kashton. His real name is Kashton." said Ash in pain as he was trying to tell the others what the King's real name was so that he wouldn't be in pain anymore.

As quick as the pain came, the pain went away as soon as he said the word, 'Kashton.'

"What was that all about, Ash?" asked Brandon curiously.

"Kashton told me not to call him King or the King anymore or I'll get this sharp pain in my stomach if I don't call him by his real name." explained Ash.

"Ok. I understand, Ash. Wait, did you say Kashton?" asked Brandon as he was realizing something familiar.

"Yeah." replied Ash as he was starting to get up.

"Well, I just realized something. If you put Ash's full name, Ash Ketchum, and Kashton together, the k, a, s, h, and t belong to both names." said Brandon as he was making a point.

"Brandon, are you saying that Ash and Kashton have about the same name?" asked Brock as he was starting to realize what Brandon was talking about.

"Yes, and that means that Ash is repeating history." said Brandon as everyone was looking at Ash.

As soon as Ash heard that, he fainted as he also realized that he was repeating history too.

Once a couple of minutes had passed, Ash was starting to wake up.

After another nightmare with Kashton and finding out that Ash is repeating history, our heroes are almost to the Mt. Coronet Stadium.

* * *

**Well, here's Chapter 18 and I actually got it out the next day too! I don't know how much I'll be able to type up the next chapter because of finals coming soon. Oh well. See ya later!**

**AshKetchumForever-Action first-Think later!**


	19. The Pokelantis Council Invasion!

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Pokemon characters except the ones that you haven't heard of in the show. Those are mine, even Kashton's name is mine.**

**

* * *

****Chapter 19: The Pokelantis Council Invasion At The Ruins!**

After arriving at the stadium, our heroes are on their way to the Ruins, but they're about to meet a group of people that they'll never forget.

When they got there, Ash felt someone or something was watching them.

"Are you ok, Ash?" asked Dawn as she was looking at him with curiosity in her voice.

"I'm ok. Why do you ask?" replied as he was asking his own question.

"Because you've been on edge since you found out that you're repeating history." replied May.

"Sorry about that, guys." said Ash.

"That's ok. We understand, I guess." said Misty with a look of annoyance from Ash.

"_I sense a group nearby. I wonder if it's my imagination."_ said Ashley in her mind as they arrived at the Ruins.

_(30 Minutes Later)_

When they were about to leave, Ash, at the end of the gang, was tripped by a piece of rope that was held tightly by two strong adults.

"Ok, who did that?" yelled Ash.

Just as the gang turned around to see if he was ok, they were shocked to see the old Pokelantis Council sneaking up behind him.

The only thing that they could do was point to the Council.

"What is it, guys?" asked Ash as he was turning around to see the Council almost reaching him.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked Ash as he was trying to find out as he crawled backwards to try to get away from them.

_(In Ash's Mind)_

"Let me take over, Ash. They're called the Council of Pokelantis and they want me, not you, dead for good." said Kashton in Ash's mind as he was getting ready to take over Ash's body.

_(Back In The Real World)_

Ash figured that Kashton would have better luck in defeating the Council than he would.

"Ok, Kashton." said Ash as he was letting Kashton take over.

"Bring it on, Holy." said Kashton as he was challenging the leader of the Council.

"Oh, I will." said Holy as he was charging at him.

Kashton dodged it easily, but Miranda, Ace, Zach, and Logan along with Holy were attacking him all at once.

_(With The Others)_

"Ash!" yelled Dawn as she was about to go and help Ash out of this awful predicament.

Brock placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from helping Kashton and getting hurt in the process.

"That's not Ash anymore, Dawn. That's Kashton." said Brandon.

"But how?" asked Cynthia curiously.

"Ash must have let him take over for this battle." said Brandon as he was watching Kashton dodge a lot of punches in Ash's body.

_(Back With Kashton)_

While the gang was trying to find out why Ash let Kashton take over, Ace, Zach, Miranda, and Logan held Kashton down on the ground so that Holy could cast a 'Gone Forever' spell on him.

"Let me go!" said Kashton as he was struggling to get free.

"Why should I?" asked Holy as he was in the middle of the spell.

"Because the spell might destroy the boy's spirit instead of mine." said Kashton as he was trying to trick Holy into letting him go.

Holy was shocked to hear Kashton say that because he stopped the spell that he started.

"He's right. Let him go." said Holy as he was giving into Kashton's plan.

As soon as the four Council members released him, Kashton let out a sleeping spell on the five of them which would last a couple of days.

"Come on, let's go, everyone." said Kashton as he was running toward the gang.

When they were almost to the stadium from the Ruins, Kashton stopped in his tracks to catch his breath along with the others.

"15 down and 5 to go. I hope you have fun with Ash for 5 more times. Tell him that he's gonna need all the help that he can get for now." said Kashton as he was leaving Ash's body.

Ash fell unconscious and now the tattoo was getting closer to his hands and head, but what they can't see is that the tattoo has almost covered Ash's legs and back.

After getting attacked by the Council of Pokelantis, our heroes are gonna get a good night's sleep for tomorrow's preliminary round.

* * *

After a weird day at the Ruins, our heroes are helping Ash, who was wearing a turtleneck the same color as the T-shirt that he was first wearing, get ready for the preliminaries by choosing what two pokemon he'll use.

"How about calling Professor Oak for that Sceptile that you mentioned a month ago or two ago?" asked Dawn.

"That's a great idea, Dawn, but I don't think that's necessary." said Professor Oak as he was walking in with Mrs. Ketchum following right behind him.

"Mom? Professor? What are you doing here?" asked Ash excitedly.

"We're here to watch you compete and bring you Sceptile for you." replied Professor Oak as he was handing Ash Sceptile's pokeball.

It didn't take Mrs. Ketchum too long to notice that something was different with Ash, but she finally figured it out and decided to ask him about what she noticed.

"Why are you wearing a turtleneck instead of your T-shirt?" asked Mrs. Ketchum curiously to her son, which caught him off guard.

Ash was surprised by this question for his Mom, but he recovered quickly to hide the fact that Kashton was using his body to come back into the world.

"I thought that it would be a nice change from the usual." replied Ash as he was lying as best as he could and it worked because his mother didn't ask anymore questions about the shirt to his relief.

Before she could ask anymore questions about how's he been and anything else, the preliminary battles showed up on the screen, revealing that Ash will be battling Dawn's tag battle partner, Conway.

Ashley had just came in from putting the special mix in a glass full of water when she noticed that everyone was leaving because Ash was about to battle Conway.

"Let's win this one, Pikachu!" said Ash as he was getting ready to leave, but Ashley stopped him to give him the water with the special mix that Xandor gave her in it.

He drank all of the water that she gave him and thanked her for it and then, left for the battlefield in a rush.

"_It won't be long now, Kashton."_ said Ashley in her mind as the plan was almost complete and leaving to watch how the battle does at the same time.

_(With Ash And Pikachu)_

Just as Ash was about to walk onto the battlefield, he felt a piercing pain in his stomach that he couldn't ignore.

He fell to his knees and clutched his stomach until, Kashton took over his body for the battle against Conway.

Pikachu was starting to worry about Ash and thought that he was in trouble, but it ignored the feeling in case Ash wanted it to battle against Conway.

_(On The Battlefield)_

The crowd went wild when the two trainers walked into the trainer boxes.

"This preliminary match between Conway of Veilstone City and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town is about to begin! Trainers ready?" asked the referee, who was a male.

"Yeah!" yelled Conway and Ash, with Kashton using Ash's voice, in unison.

"Then let the match begin!" said the male referee.

"Go Aggron and Slowking!"

"Go Pikachu and Sceptile!"

"Aggron, Metal Claw followed by Iron Tail!" and Slowking, Hydro Pump followed by Psychic!"

"Pikachu, Quick Attack followed by Iron Tail and Sceptile, Bullet Seed followed by Leaf Blade!"

Pikachu's Iron Tail cut through the Hydro Pump slammed into Slowking, but not hard enough to knock it out.

Bullet Seed and Leaf Blade gave Aggron a lot of damage and again, not hard enough to knock it out.

"Aggron, Head Smash followed by Hyper Beam and Slowking, Water Gun followed by Water Pulse!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt followed by Volt Tackle and Sceptile, Pound followed by Solarbeam!"

The Volt Tackle smashed into the Water Pulse and knocked Slowking out.

Solarbeam and Hyper Beam smashed into each other and knocked Aggron out as well.

"Aggron and Slowking are unable to battle. Pikachu and Sceptile are the winners and the match goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" announced the referee.

"Great job, Pikachu and Sceptile. Return, Sceptile." said Ash as he was returning Sceptile to its pokeball.

"Great job, Ash." said Ashley happily because of how Kashton was able to win even though he had a ruthless strategy up his sleeve, but he apparently didn't need it.

"Thanks, Ashley. Well, I think I'm going to go back to the room and go to bed. Will you guys tell me who my next opponent is?" asked Ash as Kashton kept control of his body.

"Ok, we will. See you in the morning." said Brock as Ash was leaving.

"I see that Nando and Paul made it to round 1." said Misty.

It didn't take too long to get the battles ready for the top sixteen.

"Well, it looks like Ash will be battling Brock's tag battle partner, Holly, for a spot in the elite eight." said Dawn as they were looking at the battles.

"I'll go and tell Ash that the wonderful Holly will be his next opponent. Bye!" said Brock as he was leaving happily.

_(With Brock)_

When he got to the room, he found Ash sound asleep and a note that was written in Ash's handwriting that said: "16 down and 4 to go. Sorry about having to take your friend Ash away from you NOT!"

"_Oh, boy, I had a feeling that this would happen when we got here."_ said Brock in his mind while he was looking at Ash.

After winning the preliminary round battle against Conway, Kashton is another step closer to ruling the world in Ash's body.

* * *

After finding out that Ash only has 4 to go, our heroes are helping Ash with his strategy against Holly.

When everybody was leaving to get to the stadium, Brock stopped Ash, before he left, to talk with him.

"Ash, whatever you do, don't let Kashton take over anymore since you only have 4 left. Ok?" asked Brock.

"Ok, Brock. I'll try to keep him under control." replied Ash.

As soon as Brock left the room, Ash felt another piercing pain in his stomach that he couldn't ignore and fell to his knees.

He clutched his stomach a little harder because the pain was a little more intense than before and then, Kashton took over once again even though Ash was trying to stop him from taking over, but failed.

"Now, let's beat her, Pikachu." said Kashton as he was using Ash's voice again.

_(On The Battlefield)_

When the two of them walked out onto the battlefield, the crowd was going crazy with anticipation of who will move onto the elite eight.

"This 1st round match between Holly of Veilstone City and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town is about to begin! Trainers ready?" asked the referee, who was a female.

"Yeah!" answered Ash and Holly in unison.

"Then let the match begin!" said the referee.

"Go Wingull!"

"Go Pikachu!"

"Wingull, Steel Wing followed by Blizzard!"

"Pikachu, Iron Tail followed by Thunderbolt!"

The Iron Tail cancelled the Steel Wing and the Thunderbolt took out Wingull easily.

"Wingull's unable to battle. Pikachu's the winner!"

"Go Nosepass!"

"Pikachu, come back for now. Go Buizel!"

"Nosepass, Thunder Wave followed by Zap Cannon!"

"Buizel, Sonic Boom followed by Water Gun!"

The Sonic Boom cancelled both electric attacks and the Water Gun hit Nosepass hard.

"Nosepass, Sandstorm!"

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!"

The Aqua jet hit first knocking Nosepass out.

"Nosepass' unable to battle. Buizel's the winner!"

"Go Farfetch'd!"

"Buizel, return. Go Pikachu!"

"Farfetch'd, Air Slash!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

The Thunderbolt destroyed the Air Slash and hit Farfetch'd hard enough to knock it out.

"Farfetch'd's unable to battle. Pikachu's the winner!"

"Go Pigeot! Pigeot, Aerial Ace!"

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

The two attacks smashed into each other, but Pigeot was knocked out.

"Pigeot's unable to battle. Pikachu's the winner!"

"Go Fearow! Fearow, Aerial Ace!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

The Thunderbolt knocked Fearow out.

"Fearow's unable to battle. Pikachu's the winner!"

"Go Pelipper!"

"Pikachu, take a break. Go Turtwig!"

"Pelipper, Water Gun followed by Aerial Ace!"

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf followed by Energy Ball!"

The Razor Leaf cut through the Water Gun while the Energy Ball hit before Aerial Ace was complete, knocking Pelipper out.

"Pelipper's unable to battle. Turtwig's the winner and the match goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" announced the referee.

"Alright, Turtwig, we did it!" said Ash excitedly.

"Alright, Ash, great job!" said May.

"Thanks, May. Will you guys let me know who's my opponent for a spot in the final four?" asked Ash.

"Ok. I'll take over for you, Brock." said Brandon.

"Thanks, Brandon. See you guys in the morning." said Ash as he was leaving.

When he left the room, the pairing for the battles came up and showed Ash battling a guy named Silver, who had white hair, for the final four spot.

"Well, I guess I should tell Ash that he'll be battling Silver. I'll see you in a little bit." said Brandon as he was leaving.

_(With Brandon)_

Once he got in to the room, he found Ash out cold in his sleep and a note that was still in Ash's handwriting that said: "17 down and 3 to go. It's too late to save your friend Ash now. Just tell him to give up now or he'll pay with pain."

"Ash, you're in deep trouble now." said Brandon while he was looking at Ash.

"_Kashton, you're not going to get Ash to give up anytime soon."_ said Brandon in his mind as he was still looking at Ash.

After Brandon found out that Kashton wants Ash to give up his fight against him, our heroes are gonna have o find a way to save Ash, but with only 3 more times to go, will that be enough time to save him?

* * *

After finding out that they only have 3 more times, our heroes are helping Ash with his strategy and trying to find a way to save him.

Once it was time to go, everyone was leaving for the stadium, but Brandon pulled Ash to the side to talk to him.

"Ash, did you know that Kashton only has 3 to go?" asked Brandon.

"No, I didn't. Why?" asked Ash as he was making his own question.

"Because he left a note saying to tell you to give up now or you'll pay with pain. In my mind, I thought, 'Kashton, you're not going to get Ash to give up yet.' Ash, make Kashton listen to you so that he doesn't take over anymore. Ok?" asked Brandon again.

"Ok, Brandon. I'll make him listen to me one way or another." replied Ash confidently, but not over confidently.

"Ok, Ash. Oh, and good luck in the battle." said Brandon as he was leaving.

When Brandon left for the stadium, Ash fell to his knees, clutching his stomach harder than before.

"Kashton, I won't let you take over anymore." said Ash in pain, but Kashton had other plans.

Before Ash realized it, Kashton took over, despite Ash trying to stop him.

"Let's do it, Pikachu." said Kashton as he was using Ash's voice once again.

_(On The Battlefield)_

As soon as the trainers entered the boxes, the battle was ready to begin.

"This elite eight match between Silver of Snowpoint City and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town is about to begin! Trainers ready?" asked the referee, who was a male.

"Yeah!" said Ash and Silver in unison.

"Then let the match begin!" said the referee.

"Go Charizard!"

"Go Buizel!"

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

"Buizel, Aqua Jet followed by Water Gun!"

The Aqua Jet pushed back the Flamethrower and knocked out Charizard with both Aqua Jet and Water Gun together.

"Charizard's unable to battle. Buizel's the winner!"

"Go Typhlosion! Typhlosion, Flamethrower followed by Overheat!"

"Buizel, Water Gun followed by Aqua Jet!"

Before Typhlosion could release the attacks, Buizel's water attacks knocked it out in one go.

"Typhlosion's unable to battle. Buizel's the winner!"

"Go Blaziken! Blaziken, Blaze Kick followed by Overheat!"

"Buizel, Aqua Jet followed by Water Gun!"

Before Blaziken could hit Buizel with Blaze Kick, Buizel's Aqua Jet-Water Gun combo knocked it out cold.

"Blaziken's unable to battle. Buizel's the winner!"

"Go Infernape! Infernape, Fire Punch followed by Overheat!"

"Buizel, Water Gun followed by Aqua Jet!"

The attacks smashed into each other and knocked both Infernape and Buizel out.

"Both Buizel and Infernape are unable to battle. It's a draw!"

"Go Macargo!"

"Go Pikachu!"

"Macargo, Flamethrower followed by Overheat!"

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle followed by Iron Tail!"

The attacks hit each other, knocking both of them out again.

"Both Macargo and Pikachu are unable to battle. It's another draw!"

"Go Torkoal!"

"Go Chimchar!"

"Torkoal, Flamethrower followed by Overheat!"

"Chimchar, Dig followed by Flame Wheel!"

Chimchar dodged the Flamethrower and the Overheat and then hit Torkoal hard enough to knock it out.

"Torkoal's unable to battle. Chimchar's the winner and the match goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" announced the referee.

"Alright, Chimchar! We're going onto the final four!" said Ash.

"Great job, honey." said Mrs. Ketchum.

"Thanks, Mom. I'll see you guys later. Will you let me know who my next opponent is?" asked Ash.

"Sure, we'll let you know." replied the four girls in unison.

"Thanks, girls." said Ash as he was leaving the room.

After a couple of minutes had past, the final four battles were shown and Ash was battling Nando for a spot in the finals.

The girls left to tell Ash who his opponent was.

_(With The Girls)_

When they got there, they found Ash in pain in his sleep, but the pain subsided after a few seconds, and a note, in Ash's handwriting as usual, saying: "18 down and 2 to go. Your friend Ash is a ticking time bomb before I take over the world so enjoy your last days before the end of the world."

"Ash, you don't know what's really happening to you, do you?" said Dawn as she were looking at him with the others.

After finding out that Kashton only has 2 to go, will our heroes be able to stop him before he takes over forever?

* * *

With only 2 to go, our heroes are gonna have to figure out a plan during Ash's battle to save both Ash and the world from Kashton.

Since it was time to go, everyone was making their way to the stadium, but before he left, Ash was pulled aside by the girls.

"Ash, we need to talk to you about Kashton." said May.

As she said that, Ash looked at the clock, which was on the wall right behind the girls, and noticed that he would be late for his match against Nando.

"Sorry, girls, but I gotta go or I'll be late. See ya!" said Ash as he was leaving the girls in a hurry.

"Ash! Ash, stop! I see he's the same old Ash that I remember." said Misty to the other girls as he was looking at them before leaving the room for the stadium themselves.

_(With Ash And Pikachu)_

Ash, all alone with Pikachu, was running into the tunnel that goes into the stadium, when all of a sudden, he felt a piercing pain in his stomach that was more intense than the other times.

He fell to his knees, clutching his stomach harder than before.

Before he could tell Kashton not to take over, Kashton took over and was using Ash's voice again.

"Let's go for it, Pikachu." said Ash as he was entering the trainer's box.

_(On The Battlefield)_

"This semi-final match between Nando of Floraroma Town and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town is about to begin! Trainer's ready?" announced the referee, who was a male.

"Yeah!" said Ash and Nando in unison.

"Then let the match begin!"

"Go Kricketune!"

"Go Chimchar!"

"Kricketune, Sing followed by X Scissor!"

"Chimchar, Dig followed by Flamethrower!"

Chimchar dodged both attacks and hit Kricketune hard enough to knock it out.

"Kricketune's unable to battle. Chimchar's the winner!"

"Go Sunflora! Sunflora, Razor Leaf followed by Solarbeam!"

"Chimchar, Flame Wheel followed by Flamethrower!"

The Razor Leaf was destroyed by the Flame Wheel and the two attacks smashed into each other and knocked Chimchar and Sunflora out.

"Both Chimchar and Sunflora are unable to battle. It's a draw!"

"Go Roselia!"

"Go Staravia!"

"Roselia, Sunny Day followed by Solarbeam!"

"Staravia, Aerial Ace followed by Wing Attack!"

Staravia's attacks hit first, knocking Roselia out.

"Roselia's unable to battle. Staravia's the winner!"

"Go Vileplum! Vileplum, Bullet Seed followed by Solarbeam!"

"Staravia, Quick Attack followed by Aerial Ace!"

Staravia dodged both attacks and hit Vileplum hard enough to knock it out.

"Vileplum's unable to battle. Staravia's the winner!"

"Go Bellossom! Bellossom, Petal Dance followed by Solarbeam!"

"Staravia, Wing Attack followed by Aerial Ace!"

The attacks slammed into each other, but Bellossom was knocked out.

"Bellossom's unable to battle. Staravia's the winner!"

"Go Roserade! Roserade, Grass Knot followed by Weather Ball!"

"Staravia, Quick Attack followed by Aerial Ace!"

The Grass Knot was cut by the Quick Attack and before Roserade could release the Weather Ball, which was a fireball, Aerial Ace hit it and knocked it out.

"Roserade's unable to battle. Staravia's the winner and the winner of the match is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" announced the referee.

"Alright, Staravia. Good job." said Ash as he was returning Staravia to its pokeball.

"Great job, Ash." said Professor Oak when Ash entered the trainer's waiting room.

"Thanks, Professor. Wow. I can't believe that I'm going to the finals for the first time. Will you let mo know who my opponent is?" asked Ash.

"Ok, we'll do it for you." said Max and Lucian in unison.

"Thanks, Max. Thanks, Lucian. See you in the morning." said Ash as he was leaving them.

As soon as he left, everyone was shocked to see that he would be going up against his rival, Paul, in the finals.

"Well, should we get this over with Ash?" asked Max.

"Yeah. See you guys in a couple of minutes." said Lucian as they were leaving.

_(With Max And Lucian)_

When they entered the room, Ash was in pain in his sleep, which only lasted a minute, and a note, in Ash's handwriting, that said: "19 down and 1 to go. I hope you enjoyed having Ash around now because after one more time, the Ash that you know will be destroyed while I rule the world."

"Great job, Ash. You've done it now." said Max as he was looking at Ash and then at Lucian with a worried look on his face.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"What was the smaller twerp taking about, James?" asked Jessie as they were listening to Max and Lucian talk about Kashton.

"I don't know, Jessie, but it sounds like the twerp is in big time trouble about whatever they were talking about." replied James as he didn't have any idea about what Max and Lucian were talking about.

"Why don't we keep an eye on the twerp group so that we can get Pikachu when they're not looking?" said Meowth as they were leaving from under the gang's window.

Jessie and James just nodded and followed Meowth.

_(Back With Max And Lucian)_

With Kashton having one to go, out heroes are gonna have to stop him before he takes over for good or risk losing Ash forever.

* * *

After finding out that they only have 1 to go, our heroes are gonna try to keep an eye on Ash during the battle with Paul.

Since the match was going to start in a couple of minutes, everyone started to make their way to the stadium, but Ash was pulled aside again by Max and Lucian.

"Ash, we need to talk to you. It's about Kashton. He's only got 1 to go and we need you to be strong enough to stop him so he doesn't take over the world." said Max and Lucian in unison.

Ash was looking at the clock, which was behind them on the wall, when they said that.

"Ok, guys. I'll keep him under control. See ya after the battle." said Ash as he was leaving in a hurry again.

"Well, let's get going, Max." said Lucian.

"I agree, Lucian." said Max and they left without saying a word.

_(With Ash And Pikachu)_

While Ash and Pikachu were running through the tunnel o the stadium, he felt another piercing pain in his stomach that was more intense than anything he's felt before.

He fell to his knees, clutching his stomach his stomach so hard that it was actually harder than before.

"Kashton, stop trying to take over the world." said Ash in pain, but Kashton wanted to rule the world that day.

Ash lost the battle with because he took over for the final time.

"Let's go and beat Paul, Pikachu." said Ash, with Kashton using his voice again, entering the stadium.

_(On The Battlefield)_

"This match between Paul of Veilstone City and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town is about to begin! Are the trainers ready?" announced the referee, who was a male.

"Yeah!" said Ash and Paul in unison.

"Then let the match begin!"

"Magmar, Stand By!"

"Go Buizel!"

"Magmar, Flamethrower followed by Fire Punch!"

"Buizel, Water Pulse followed by Aqua Jet!"

Both Paul and Magmar were surprised by the Water Pulse-Aqua Jet combo and knocked Magmar out cold.

"Magmar's unable to battle. Buizel's the winner!"

"Electabuzz, Stand By! Electabuzz, Thunder followed by Thunder Punch!"

"Buizel, Sonic Boom followed by Aqua Jet!"

The Thunder and the Sonic Boom cancelled each other out and the Thunder Punch knocked Buizel out.

"Buizel's unable to battle. Electabuzz's the winner!"

"Go Turtwig!"

"Electabuzz, Thunder Punch followed by Thunder!"

"Turtwig, Energy Ball followed by Razor Leaf!"

The Razor Leaf super charged the Energy Ball so much that it knocked Electabuzz out.

"Electabuzz's unable to battle. Turtwig's the winner!"

"Honchkrow, Stand By! Honchkrow, Shadow Ball followed by Sky Attack!"

"Turtwig, Razor Leaf followed by Energy Ball!"

Honchkrow's attacks knocked down Turtwig's attacks and knocked Turtwig out.

"Turtwig's unable to battle. Honchkrow's the winner!"

"Go Pikachu! Pikachu, Thunderbolt followed by Iron Tail!"

"Honchkrow, Sky Attack followed by Shadow Ball!"

Pikachu's attacks hit first and knocked Honchkrow out.

"Honchkrow's unable to battle. Pikachu's the winner!"

"Weavil, Stand By! Weavil, Blizzard followed by Shadow Ball!"

"Pikachu, Iron Tail followed by Volt Tackle!"

Weavil froze Pikachu with Blizzard and knocked it out with a Shadow Ball.

"Pikachu's unable to battle. Weavil's the winner!"

"Go Chimchar! Chimchar, Flamethrower followed by Flame Wheel!"

"Weavil, Ice Beam followed by Blizzard!"

Weavil's attacks were destroyed by Chimchar's attacks and was easily knocked out.

"Weavil's unable to battle. Chimchar's the winner!"

"Ursaring, Stand By! Ursaring, Focus Blast followed by Hyper Beam!"

"Chimchar, Flamethrower followed by Flame Wheel!"

When Ursaring launched the Hyper Beam, Chimchar had nowhere to go and was knocked out hard.

"Chimchar's unable to battle. Ursaring's the winner!"

"Go Staravia! Staravia, Quick Attack followed by Brave Bird!"

"Ursaring, Hammerarm followed by Focus Blast!"

Ursaring wasn't able to gather enough energy for Hammerarm before Staravia's Brave Bird knocked it out.

"Ursaring's unable to battle. Staravia's the winner!"

"Torterra, Stand By! Torterra, Leaf Storm followed by Hyper Beam!"

"Staravia, Aerial Ace followed by Brave Bird!"

Before Staravia could attack, it was knocked out in an instant.

"Staravia's unable to battle. Torterra's the winner!"

"Go Sceptile! Sceptile, Bullet Seed followed by Pound!"

"Torterra, Giga Drain followed by Leaf Storm!"

The attacks smashed into each other, but didn't take anybody out.

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade followed by Solarbeam!"

"Torterra, Frenzy Plant followed by Hyper Beam!"

The Solarbeam and the Hyper Beam collided in midair and knocked Torterra out.

"Torterra's unable to battle. Sceptile's the winner and the winner of the Sinnoh League is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" announced the referee.

"Alright, Sceptile. We won the SInnoh League!" said Ash excitedly.

"Congratulations, Ash, and for your hard work to get here, I present the Sinnoh League trophy to you." said Cynthia as she was handing Ash the trophy.

"Thanks, Cynthia. Alright, Pikachu. We finally won it!" said Ash as he was holding up the trophy.

"Once we get down here, everyone's invited to a celebration for Ash by the Pokemon League Committee." said Cynthia as she was leaving the stage in the stadium.

_(At The Celebration Party)_

When the party was underway, everyone was congratulating Ash for winning the League.

Once everyone was done, Ash decided to go outside for some fresh night air since the sun went down half an hour earlier.

"Hey, Brock. I'm going out for 5 minutes. Do you want to come?" asked Ash as himself, not Kashton since he left Ash's body right after the match was over and he didn't fall unconscious.

"No thanks, Ash. I think I'll pass. See you in 5." said Brock as Ash was heading for the door without Pikachu, who was playing with the other pokemon.

While the party was at full blast, Ashley sneaked out without anyone noticing here, which she considered a good thing as she quickly transformed into her original form.

_(With Ash)_

Ash didn't know that Andrea was right behind him until she hit him on the back and neck to knock him out.

"Kashton, you only have until the full moon at midnight with Ash keeping you from returning to the world to rule it." said Andrea as she was releasing her Infernape to carry Ash to the Lost Tower for the resurrection.

_(5 Minutes Later)_

5 minutes had come and gone and Ash hadn't come back in so Brock went out to find him, but he only found two sets of footprints that looked like a girl and a pokemon.

Brock realized that Andrea must've taken Ash to free Kashton.

"Guys, we have a problem. That Andrea girl took Ash to free Kashton." said Brock as he found the others close by.

"Where did she take him?" asked Misty curiously.

"I know. The Lost Tower!" exclaimed Brandon and Brock in unison.

"What's the Lost Tower, you two?" asked Dawn.

"The Lost Tower's where tortured souls of humans and pokemon go once they die." explained Cynthia.

"Then we better go and save Ash before they steal his soul and release Kashton into the world." said Brandon as he was running out of the building.

"Yeah!" said the others as they were following Brandon.

_(With Team Rocket)_

Team Rocket was watching the whole thing with Andrea taking Ash and watching the gang run to the Lost Tower.

They followed after to try to capture Pikachu while Ash is down for the count.

_(Back With The Gang)_

Will our heroes make it to the Lost Tower in time or will the guardians resurrect Kashton before they get there?

What Happens Next Means That Only Time Will Tell!

* * *

**Oooo, a cliff hanger! It's the first post of my summer vacation and I'm happy! XD Bring on more chapters from me because I'll get them up as much as I can. See ya later and don't forget about the poll that's on my profile because it willbe done once this fanfic is over with!**

**AshKetchumForever-Action first-Think later!**


	20. The Return Of Kashton!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, but I own my characters!**

**

* * *

****Chapter 20: The Return Of Kashton The King Of Pokelantis!**

After discovering that Andrea took Ash to the Lost Tower to get Kashton back, our heroes are running for their lives to stop the guardians from resurrecting Kashton.

"Come on, everyone. We're almost there so let's keep going." said Brock as he was in the lead.

While they were running, the Council was following a far distance behind them.

_(With The Council)_

"It won't be long now, everyone." said Holy as they were starting to catch up to the gang.

_(At The Lost Tower)_

While the two groups are arriving at the bottom of the tower, Ash is starting to wake up.

"Where, where am I? What am I doing here?" asked Ash to no one in particular.

"You're in the Lost Tower so that we can bring our King, Kashton, back." said Garret as he was approaching Ash, who was scared out of his mind.

"Ok, Andrea. You can go ahead and put him to sleep now." said Shayret as he was appearing next to Garret.

"Ok, Shayret. Darkrai, Dark Void!" said Andrea as she released Darkrai from its pokeball.

The Dark Void put Ash out in an instant and Shayret along with Garret were getting ready for Kashton's revival.

_(Back With The Gang)_

"Come on, everyone. We're only halfway up to the top." said Brandon as he was taking over the lead from Brock.

"Ok, but can't we take a break?" asked Max, who was falling behind them from exhaustion.

"No!" said everyone in unison as they were still running.

"Don't you want to save Ash, Max?" asked May as she was running next to him.

"I do, May, but I'm starting to get out of breath." said Max.

"Just suck it up, Max!" said May as she was running ahead of him.

"Hey! Wait for me!" said Max as he was running to catch up to the rest of the gang.

_(Back With The Council)_

When the gang was almost to the top, the Council was at the halfway point where the gang past by a couple of minutes earlier.

_(Back With The Guardians)_

Garret was getting the Stone Pokeball ready to release all of Kashton's aura into Ash's body while Shayret was preparing the spell that would switch Ash's aura with Kashton's aura into the Stone Pokeball.

"Is it time to release Kashton yet?" asked Andrea as she was impatiently waiting.

"Andrea, we only have 5 minutes left before it's time. So just wait a little while longer." replied Garret as he was trying to find something to past the time away.

All of a sudden, Xandor, who was keeping watch, came running into the room, breathless.

"We have a giant problem. Ash's friends and the Council are on their way up here, but the group of friends are almost here to save Ash. What should we do?" asked Xandor, now catching his breath.

"What you should do is get Michael up here and hold everyone back while Garret and I perform the ceremony." said Shayret.

Out of nowhere, Michael showed up behind Andrea and Xandor, who didn't notice their friend's arrival.

"Get into your positions everyone because it's time for our King to come back into the world." said Garret as he was picking up the Stone Pokeball and getting into position.

"Let's go Andrea and Xandor. We have guests to welcome and hold back." said Michael as he was scaring Andrea and Xandor.

"Michael? How'd you get up here so fast?" said the guardians in unison as they were still astonished.

"I ran up the stairs so fast that the two gangs thought that it was just the wind blowing." said Michael as they were waiting by the entrance to the room.

Just as everyone got into their positions, the gang came charging into the room, but was stopped by the guardians so fast that they almost slammed into each other.

By the time they stopped completely, the Council reached the top and pushed their way through the gang to the front, but they left enough room for all of the gang to see what was happening to Ash.

Before the Council knew it, the three guardians along with Ash's Sceptile and Andrea's Infernape stopped them from coming any closer.

"It's so nice that all of you could join us in the resurrection of Kashton, the King of Pokelantis! Shayret, begin the spell." said Garret as he was welcoming the guests.

"Ok, Garret. 'Light come forth from the darkness and release the two souls from where they lay. Let the two souls switch places so that Kashton can take over the body of Ash Ketchum and put Ash's soul into the Stone Pokeball so that he won't bother Kashton anymore. As I ask of you, spirits of humans and pokemon, hear my plea now, darkness come forth from the light and return our King to us now!" said Shayret as he was reading the spell.

After he finished the spell, the soul of Kashton came out of the Stone Pokeball and with one last breath, Ash's soul split from his body.

The dark soul of Kashton entered Ash's body in a matter of seconds after leaving the Stone Pokeball while Ash's pure white soul was sucked into the Stone Pokeball.

"Ash, no. No, it can't be!" said Misty, May, and Dawn in unison.

"I can't believe that Ash is gone for good." said Brandon.

After a minute, Ash's hand started to twitch and before anyone knew it, Kashton started to get up from the stone slab bed in an instant.

"Welcome back, Kashton." said Garret, Shayret, and the three guardians in unison.

"Thank you, everyone." said Kashton as he was looking at everyone with Ash's eyes, which were the same color as before when Ash was in control of his body and in the same voice that he used whne he possessed Ash the first time back at the Battle Pyramid.

With Kashton back in the world and Ash inside the Stone Pokeball, will our heroes be able to get Ash back into his body and save the world at the same time?

* * *

After watching Kashton switch places with Ash, our heroes are gonna have to figure out a plan to stop Kashton before he takes over the world.

"I can't believe that we're too late." said Holy to the rest of the Council.

While everyone from Pokelantis was looking at their beloved King (sort of), Brandon thought of a way to get the Stone Pokeball away from them.

"Pikachu, go and get the Stone Pokeball from them as fast as you can." whispered Brandon to Pikachu, who was sitting on Misty's shoulder.

Pikachu used Quick Attack to get the Stone Pokeball from the stone table by the bed and ran back to the gang.

"Good job, Pikachu. I knew we could count on you." said May as she was receiving the Stone Pokeball from Pikachu.

"Let's get out of here so that we can warn all of the regions." said Brock as he was leading the gang out of there.

"Hey, come back here this instant!" said Andrea as she was getting ready to follow them to stop them from leaving.

"Stop, Andrea. Let them go because when I'm done here, the world will be mine forever!" said Kashton as he was finishing a spell, which looked like a ball of black energy that would end the world as we know it.

_(With The Gang)_

As soon as the gang left the Tower, they saw something leave the top of it that looked like an orb of some sort.

_(Back At The Tower)_

Kashton had just launched the spell and was about to say the last line of the spell.

"Spirits of the past, the present, and the future, let everyone in the world know that Kashton, the King of Pokelantis, has taken over the world forever!" said Kashton.

When he finished saying that, the ball, which was floating high in the sky, went up a little higher and then it exploded to create a world in Kashton's image, which was covered with dark clouds and all different kinds of things that looked evil.

_(Back With The Gang)_

The gang watched everything that happened and decided that they couldn't stop Kashton now.

"Oh, great. It looks like we can't warn everybody about Kashton taking over the world now." said Misty as she was disappointed about this whole situation.

"Don't worry, everyone. I think that this pokemon can help us out. Go Bronzong!" said Lucian as he was releasing Bronzong.

"Lucian, can Bronzong use Teleport?" asked Dawn curiously.

"Yes, Bronzong can use Teleport. Ok, everyone, hold on tight. Bronzong, Teleport!" replied Lucian.

"Next stop: Pallet Town!" said Brock before they teleported away from that scary place.

_(Back At The Tower)_

"Kashton, your highness. Sorry to disturb you, but Ash's friends just teleported away using a Bronzong to a town called Pallet Town and I don't know where that it." said Andrea as she bent done on her right knee and bowed her head so that he wouldn't see how disappointed she was that the got away.

"Kanto. The town is in Kanto. We must go there so that I can resurrect the City of Pokelantis. Andrea, transform into your pokemon form and tell everyone else to transform as well so that we can leave immediately." ordered Kashton in a serious tone as he was looking at Andrea.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After Kashton and the others left the Lost Tower, our heroes are being teleported to the one person that could help them the most in this situation: Professor Oak.

* * *

Last time, Kashton had taken over the world and now, our heroes are arriving in Pallet Town to see if Professor Oak can help them out.

_(In Pallet Town)_

"Well, we're here." said May as she looked around.

"What are we doing here, Brock?" asked Dawn curiously as she was looking at Brock.

"Follow me." said Brock as he was running towards Professor Oak's lab.

"Brock, wait up!" yelled May as she was running after Brock with the others.

_(At Professor Oak's Lab)_

When they arrived at the lab a couple of minutes later, they found Tracey inside as he was shocked to see them barge in like that.

"Tracey, where's Professor Oak?" asked Brock in a rush.

"He's in the back with Mrs. Ketchum. What's going on, everyone?" asked Tracey as he was making his own question and still in shock as he was standing in the same spot when the gang barged in a couple of minutes ago.

"If you want to find out, you'd better follow us, Tracey." said Max as he ran past Tracey.

"Ok. Hey, wait up!" said Tracey as he was running after them.

_(With Professor Oak And Mrs. Ketchum)_

Brock spotted Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum talking about how exciting the Sinnoh League was and how proud she was of Ash. (I don't think anymore when she finds out what he did now.)

"Professor, we need your help really badly!" said Brock as he was breathless after the run here.

"Hello to you too, everyone." said Professor Oak as he was ignoring their pleas for his help.

"Hi, everyone! Hey, where's Ash? I don't see him anywhere." said Mrs. Ketchum as she was wondering where her son was.

The gang looked at May, who still had the Stone Pokeball, as she brought the Stone Pokeball out and she was holding the Pokeball in her hand to show it to them.

"Ash is in here. Well, his soul is anyway." explained May.

"Ash can't be in there and if he is, show him to us so that we believe you." said Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum in unison.

"Ok. Bayleef, can you come over here for a little while?" asked Misty as she was looking for one of Ash's pokemon to be a host for a short while.

"Bay! Bay!" replied Bayleef as it happily was coming over to them.

"Bayleef, would you mind holding onto this for us?" asked May as she was handing the Stone Pokeball to it.

Bayleef nodded as it extended one of its vines to hold onto the Stone Pokeball.

"Ok, Bayleef, are you ready? Ash, come on out!" said Brock.

Nothing happened for a few seconds and then, all of a sudden, the Stone Pokeball started to move on its own back and forth slightly and a pure white light came out of it, possessing Bayleef.

"Bayleef, are you ok? What do you think you're doing to Bayleef and where's Ash?" said Mrs. Ketchum angrily as the gang could see some flames appear in her eyes as she was being an overprotective mom again.

She was about to give them another piece of her mind when, Bayleef started to say something as it got up.

"Mom? Brock? Where am I?" asked Ash in Bayleef's body.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Bayleef with astonishment written over their faces.

"Ash, is that you?" asked Mrs. Ketchum.

"Of course it is, Mom. Wait a minute, did everyone get bigger or did I get smaller?" asked Ash as he was realizing a difference in size.

"Well, you got smaller because you're in Bayleef's body." replied May as she was looking at Ash.

It took about a minute until Ash realized what May just told him.

"WHAT? How can I be in Bayleef's body and why's the world so dark?" asked Ash as he realized what May was talking about while he was looking at the sky with his Mom and Professor Oak.

"There are two reasons. One, the reason why you're in Bayleef's body is because you were trapped in the Stone Pokeball and the second reason is that Kashton's loose in your body and he's already taking over the world." replied Brandon as he was catching Ash up on what was going on while he was sealed away in the Stone Pokeball.

"Who's Kashton?" asked Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum in unison.

"He's the King of Pokelantis back 200 million years ago and now he's returned to finish what he started all thanks to me." replied Ash sadly as he was thinking about how he could've stopped this from happening and lowering his head a little.

"Oh, yeah, I remember reading something about a king 200 million years ago who tried to rule the world, but couldn't because Ho-Oh sealed him inside the Stone Pokeball and destroyed Pokelantis." said Professor Oak as he remembered reading about Kashton and Pokelantis.

"Now I remember you telling me about Kashton and Pokelantis, professor. We'll try to help everyone with as much as we can." said Mrs. Ketchum as she remembered Professor Oak telling her about Kashton and Pokelantis.

"Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Professor." said Ash as he looked up at them with a smile on his face.

"Well, where do you think he is right now, Brandon?" asked Dawn as she was looking at Brandon.

"I think I know. He's probably at the Ruins of where Pokelantis was to resurrect it." replied Max before Brandon could answer.

"Ok. Let's go and stop him!" said Ash as he was about to leave in Bayleef's body.

"Hold it right there, Ash! You can't go anywhere in Bayleef's body." said Misty as she was stopping Ash in time.

"Then what would you suggest?" asked Ash sarcastically as he knew what she would do.

"I suggest this, Ash. Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" replied Dawn.

Pikachu shocked Bayleef and expelled Ash's soul from its body.

"Ash, return!" said Cynthia as she was picking up the Stone Pokeball.

His soul went right back into the Stone Pokeball without any problems because he was ready to kill Kashton for what he was doing in his body.

"Then, let's get going before Kashton brings the City of Pokelantis back to the surface." said Dawn.

"We'd love to, but it's about a week's walk from here and by the time we get there, Kashton would have it up and running again, Dawn." said May.

"Well, how about we have Bronzong teleport us over since it's much quicker?" asked Lucian.

"That's a good idea, Lucian! We'll see you, Professor and Mrs. Ketchum, after we stop Kashton and return Ash to his own body." said Misty excitedly as they were going to stop Kashton before he resurrected Pokelantis.

"Everyone, just be careful and good luck in saving the world from Kashton." said Professor Oak.

"And make sure that you bring Ash back in one piece instead of pieces, ok?" asked Mrs. Ketchum as she was starting to worry about her son already.

"We will, Mrs. Ketchum, and don't worry, we'll save both Ash and the world in time before Kashton resurrects Pokelantis." said Max as he was getting into position to be teleported.

They waved 'Goodbye' with their free hand and then, Bronzong teleported in a matter of seconds.

_(With The Gang)_

During the teleportation process, May had this to say to Max: "I can't believe that you told them that, Max!"

"Sorry, sis, but I wanted to reassure them before we left." said Max.

After talking to Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum, our heroes are arriving at the Ruins, but what happens next, no one saw coming at all.

* * *

Upon arriving at the Ruins, our heroes are witnessing something that they wish they'd never see at all.

_(With Kashton And The Guardians)_

Kashton was talking to Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie about how they would resurrect Pokelantis.

"Do you know the plan by heart, you three?" asked Kashton.

"Yes, Kashton." replied the three guardians in unison.

"Very good. When I tell you to launch the attack, we'll be performing the final step of ruling the world. Is everyone ready?" asked Kashton.

"Yeah!" replied the three in unison again.

"Then on my signal. OK. Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie, Psychic full power!" said Kashton as he was launching the spell that would make Pokelantis rise back to greatness.

_(Back With The Gang)_

The gang couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the top of the castle where Kashton once ruled Pokelantis from where they hid behind some bushes.

_(Back With Kashton And The Guardians)_

When the castle was halfway up, Kashton was hit by 2 Hyper Beams, 2 Flamethrowers, 1 Ice Beam, 1 Thunderbolt, and 1 Water Gun at the same time.

He was slammed against a nearby tree and out of nowhere, Ho-Oh transformed into a man, known as Holy, in mid-flight, which scared the gang, and pushed Kashton even harder against the tree he had slammed against just a few seconds earlier.

Holy held Kashton by having his left hand hold Kashton's throat while he charged up a Fire Punch on his right hand.

"Kashton!" yelled the three guardians in unison as they were about to stop lifting the castle up.

"Don't worry about me! Just get the castle up!" yelled Kashton as best as he could in his position as he prepared to escape in a second.

_(With The Guardians)_

The guardians kept up the Psychic attack, but were knocked out of the way by Logan, also known as Lugia, Zach, also known as Zaptos, and Miranda, also known as Moltres.

_(With Kashton)_

While all of this was happening between the guardians and the legendary Council, Kashton punched Holy to stop his Fire Punch attack.

Just as he did that, Sceptile, Infernape, Shaymin, and Giratina, who were out patrolling the area, except where the gang was, arrived to help the guardians out, but they were going over to help Kashton out instead.

"I can handle Holy by myself. You can help the guardians out because I have a little surprise for the Council." said Kashton as he was preparing a spell.

They did what Kashton told them and started to fight with the guardians, pokemon versus pokemon.

He had Azelf battling Moltres, Mesprit versus Articuno, Uxie versus Zaptos, Giratina versus Dialga, Shaymin versus Palkia, and Sceptile and Infernape versus Lugia.

"What do you have planned, Kashton?" asked Holy as he was backing away, not trusting Kashton one bit, by the rest of the Council.

"By this: 'Obey me once and for all, Council!' Stop fighting with the guardians this instant!" said Kashton as he was releasing the spell.

The Council stopped fighting with the guardians as soon as Kashton said that.

_(Back With The Gang)_

The gang couldn't believe what was happening so they started to slowly walk away unnoticed until, Max stepped on a twig, which told everyone around them that they were there. (Great job, Max!)

_(Back With Kashton)_

"Guardians, Council, go and see who our little friends are, except you, Holy. I want to talk to you." said Kashton as he was looking out of the corner of his eye at where the sound came from.

The gang started to run when they saw the guardians and the Council coming their way.

While the guardians and the Council were trying to capture the gang, Kashton walked up to Holy and looked up at him, because Holy is a lot taller than Ash, to tell him something very important.

"Holy, don't you try that stunt again like you did back on Mt. Coronet. Now, go and help the others capture the boy's friends." said Kashton as he was turning around so that his back was facing Holy.

Holy started to say a spell so that Kashton would be weak in battle.

"Spirits, I call upon you to weaken Kashton from the inside out." said Holy as he releasing the spell in Kashton's direction.

The spell smashed into Kashton's back and he turned to face Holy because he thought he heard him say something and felt something hit him softly on the back.

"Did you say something or hit me with something, Holy?" asked Kashton as he stopped walking and turned around to face Holy.

"No, Kashton, but you should be worried about yourself!" replied Holy as he was running towards Kashton with a Fire Punch in hand.

As Holy got closer, Kashton tried to dodge it, but his heart stopped for a few seconds and then, it started back up in an instant.

Kashton was hit hard by the Fire Punch and was knocked back a little bit.

After getting back up, Kashton casted another Obedience spell on Holy, but it was more powerful than before.

"Holy, why don't you go and capture Brandon for me?" asked Kashton.

Holy left without saying a word to capture Brandon in an instant.

"Guardians, Council, stop trying to capture the boy's friends. I've sent Holy out to capture Brandon. So come back." said Kashton telepathically.

The guardians and the Council heard this and went back to where Kashton was immediately.

_(With Holy)_

While the guardians and the Council were heading back, Holy has just caught up to Brandon and was playing a mind game with him, making Brandon think that there was something all round him.

He sneaked up behind Brandon and captured him easily with a Capture spell.

Then he headed back with Brandon in tow, who wasn't willing to go, but was forced into it.

_(Back With The Gang)_

The gang met up with each other in a small open field, which was surrounded by trees and a little ways away from where Kashton and the others are, and noticed that something was off.

"Hey guys, where's Brandon?" asked May curiously as she was looking around to find him and the others joined in too before Max realized the inevitable.

"Oh no! They must've captured him." replied Max.

"Then we'd better go back and see." said Brock as he was starting to run in the same direction they had just came from.

"Yeah." said the others in unison as they were following him.

_(A Few Minutes Later)_

It didn't take them too long to get back to the big open space.

The gang jumped a few bushes, which weren't that tall, instead of going through them, to enter the giant space.

"Kashton, let go of Brandon now!" said Brock as he was getting really mad at what kind of a game Kashton was pulling with them in Ash's body.

"Not unless you want to see tomorrow or you have something to trade me." said Kashton as he was thinking of a plan.

"Hold on for one minute while we talk over it, Kashton." said Dawn as she was getting into the huddle with the gang.

"Make it quick because I'm very impatient." said Kashton.

_(Inside The Gang's Huddle)_

May has a great suggestion to get Brandon and Ash back.

"How about we trade the Stone Pokeball for Brandon and say that there's a pokemon of some kind in it?" asked May curiously.

"That's a great idea, May! We can disguise the Stone Pokeball as a regular pokeball and we can say that there's a Suicune, an Entei, and a Raikou in it too!" exclaimed Misty and Cynthia in unison with their voices low.

"Then let's do it. Oh and one more thing, we need to say that we'll do the trade in the morning so that we can paint the Stone Pokeball." said Brock as he was leaving the huddle and the others nodded in agreement.

_(Outside Of The Gang's Huddle)_

"Listen up, Kashton. We'll trade Brandon for a pokeball that had the Legendary Suicune, Entei, and Raikou in it all at once, but we'll have to get it from Professor Oak and the trade will happened in the morning since it's night already." said Misty as she was explaining the trade deal.

"No. We'll do it no-oh." said Kashton as his heart stopped once again.

His heart stopped for 10 seconds, and then, it started again.

"Fine. We'll do it at sunrise. See you in the morning." said Kashton as he was leaving with the guardians and the Council following him.

"Let's get to work, guys." said Max excitedly.

After making a trade deal with Kashton, our heroes will be working into the night to get both Ash and Brandon back.

* * *

**Well, that was Chapter 20! This should be fun because the next chapter's going to get good! I'm trying to finish this on my birthday and if you don't know what that is, look on my profile. Yeah! See ya later!**

**AshKetchumForever-Action first-Think later!**


	21. Putting The Plan Into Action!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, but if I did** **this would be part of the Diamond and Peral series! I only own my characters!**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Putting The Plan Into Action!**

After finalizing a trade with Kashton, our heroes are trying to figure out how to make the Stone Pokeball look like a regular pokeball along with feel like one too in a small little open space that wasn't far from the big open field.

"Who's the creative trainer around here?" asked May curiously as she was looking at everyone.

"Well, I think I fit the description because I like to draw and make clothes for pokemon to wear." replied Dawn as she raised hand.

"Ok, Dawn. You're in charge of us. So, what do you need first?" asked Brock as he was getting ready to get whatever Dawn needed.

"Well, first I need…" replied Dawn as she was starting to list out all of the things that she needs to change the Stone Pokeball.

_(With Kashton)_

On their way back to their campsite on a trail that was surrounded by trees, Azelf wanted to know why he'd agree to a trade in the morning instead of right then along with Mesprit and Uxie wanted to know too as to why their king was doing this with the others.

"Because I'm not as strong as I was before." said Kashton as he was still looking ahead while the guardians looked at him with a curious look on their faces.

"Is your body not strong enough?" asked Uxie curiously as it was starting to think that Ash's body wasn't strong enough.

"It is strong enough, but a spell had weakened my heart by someone around here." replied Kashton as he was still looking ahead.

"By who, Kashton?" asked Mesprit curiously and angry at the same time at the person who did this to him so that he would he give pay back to them.

"By the leader of the Council, Holy." replied Kashton as they stopped in their campsite, which was a small little area a little ways away from the big open space.

"Then we'll punish him severely for doing that to you." said Uxie as Kashton turned around to face them.

"Don't worry about him. I put him under a more powerful obedience spell, so he won't be a problem anymore-oh." said Kashton as his heart stopped again and he clutched his chest right in the spot where his heart was and he almost doubled over because of the slight pain that his heart gave out.

The guardians crowded around him as they were worried about what could happen to their king in this state in his body.

This time, his heart stopped for half a minute and then, started up again and he let go of his chest as it was starting to feel better and free of the pain.

"You need to rest so that you're ready for tomorrow and that your heart can rest too." said Azelf as they made sure that Kashton was going to be fine before backing away from him.

"Ok, I will. See you in the morning." said Kashton as he was looking for a place to sleep and found one not far from the guardians, but far enough away from the Council.

He didn't have a pillow so he made his arms be his pillow as he looked up into the sky, which was pitch black, and before long he fell asleep in the same position as he first laid down, which was on his back.

Brandon was tied up so he just laid down as best as he could and fell asleep on his right side with the ground being his pillow for his head.

_(Back With The Gang)_

Dawn was putting the final touches on the Stone Pokeball to make it look and feel like a real pokeball.

"And…done." said Dawn as she was finishing the Pokeball with a paint brush in hand.

"Wow! I can't even tell if that stone before, Dawn." said Cynthia as she picked up the Pokeball carefully as to not mess up the paint.

"Well, we should get to bed so that we're not tired in the morning. Let's hope that our secret weapon remembers the plan." said Brock as he started to roll out his sleeping bag along with the others right next to each other.

"Yeah, I hope so too." said May as she was lying down inside of hers with a look of worry on it.

_(Back With Kashton)_

While the gang gets some well deserved rest, the gang from Pokelantis are starting to worry about Kashton and how he's going to fare the next day with the trade.

Well, the guardians, Giratina, and Shaymin, that is, not the Council, who still wanted to get rid of Kashton, but couldn't.

Azelf went to check on Kashton's condition, but it jumped to his side because something was wrong with him it noticed from a distance.

Kashton wasn't breathing for a full minute, and then, he started to breathe again, which gave relief to Azelf.

Azelf watched him for a few more minutes, to see if he would do that again, which he didn't, and then, left to tell Mesprit and Uxie what happened to Kashton and how worried she was about him.

"What's Kashton's condition, Azelf?" asked Uxie as Azelf was coming back with a worried look in her face.

"His condition isn't getting better. He stopped breathing for a minute and then, he started again. I watched him a few minutes to find that he didn't do it again." replied Azelf sadly as she was looking in Kashton's direction with Mesprit and Uxie.

"Well, let's try to get some sleep before tomorrow comes so that we can be well rested in case something happens tomorrow." said Uxie as he laid down with Azelf, on his left, and Mesprit, on his right.

"Right." said Azelf and Mesprit in unison as they all fell asleep with a worried expression on their faces.

_(With Team Rocket)_

They were watching the whole thing from behind a couple of bushes, in the big open space, which was surrounded by trees, after getting here from Sinnoh a few hours ago after watching the whole transfer between Ash and Kashton at the Lost Tower a day ago, which scared them to death. (Figuratively, of course.)

They didn't know what to say because they were shocked at what happened then and just now as they saw everyone stand off for the things that they wanted before they fell asleep inside their basket, which was tied down tightly.

_(Back With The Gang)_

Everyone slept through the night pretty good, but some had a problem on their minds while they were asleep and barely got any rest because of it.

As the sun, which was dark behind the dark clouds, was rising, the two gangs were standing in the same big open space as when they negotiated the trade deal, but Ash's gang has a special surprise for Kashton, which he wasn't expecting.

As the two gangs are about to make the trade, our heroes are relying on the one special person to help them out in their time of need, which is now.

* * *

After arriving at the same big open space, which was surrounded by trees, as before, our heroes are relying on Brock to make the trade and Kashton to keep his end of the deal with handing Brandon over to them.

As Brock and Kashton approach each, away from their groups a little, the trade started with Kashton bringing Brandon in front of him, who was behind him, and pushed him toward Brock and Brock stepped forward a step and handed Kashton the pokeball, which he was happy to get, which he expressed by a wide smile as he was looking at the pokeball.

Brock and Brandon, who was untied by Brock as Kashton was looking at the pokeball with wide eyes, backed away as he raised the pokeball above his head, just like Ash did when he first had his little encounter with Kashton, with a smile on his face as he was looking at the pokeball.

"Come on out, Suicune, Entei, and Raikou!" said Kashton excitedly as he was still looking at the pokeball.

When he said that, the pokeball lit up, instead of opening up like a regular pokeball, and a pure white light came out of it, which started to wrap itself around Kashton's body, and went into his body, which caused him to fall unconscious.

Kashton's body fell to the ground, on his stomach, and when Brock and Brandon, who were still close enough to get to Kashton first, rolled Kashton over, he wasn't breathing and he didn't have a pulse either as they checked him to see if he was ok.

"What did you do that for?" yelled the guardians, Giratina, and Shaymin in unison as they approached the gang, who was around Kashton, and stopped to see what happened to their king.

"Because we want the world and our friend back!" yelled back the gang in unison so that the other gang would know why they were doing this to Kashton.

The guardians and Council were taken back as they realized that they were doing the exact same thing with Kashton taking over Ash's body when he had plenty of potential as a young trainer yet as they bowed their heads in sorrow and shame as they didn't realize that.

_(In Kashton's/Ash's Mind)_

Kashton was trying to figure out what was happening to him and where was he, which was filled with swirling colors of black, purple, and red all over the place, while he was getting up off the floor from his front.

"Where am I and what am I doing here?" asked Kashton to no one in particular as he was looking around, but mostly behind him as he was trying to find an exit.

"You're in my mind and I brought you here so that I can have one last fight with you." replied Ash as he appeared from the purple, red, and black swirls behind Kashton, scaring him, when he turned around as he wasn't expecting to see Ash again.

"Well, Ash. I thought that I'd never see you again." said Kashton as he was staring at Ash, who had an angry expression on his face.

"Well, I thought that I'd never get back into my body again." said Ash as he was staring back at Kashton, who was calm and collected when he looked at Ash, with the same angry look.

"You said that you wanted one last fight?" asked Kashton after a few seconds of silence, surprising Ash as he changed the subject.

"Yeah." Replied Ash kind of nervously as he was wondering what Kashton was planning.

"Then it's a fight that you're gonna get!" said Kashton as he started to run toward Ash with his fist clenched into a fist, which meant this was gonna be a tough fight for Ash.

Ash didn't know what to do because he was scared to death as he was watching Kashton get closer and closer with the punch that was directed at him.

Kashton hit him hard enough to hit the wall, which about three feet from where Ash was standing, and he slid down the wall to land on his butt as he was looking at Kashton, who had jumped back to his side of the battlefield.

_(Back In The Real World)_

The gangs noticed that the tattoo was starting to disappear from Ash's arms, which didn't leave any marks such as scars, and that he was starting to get some scratches on his face and arms, from the hit that he had just received from Kashton.

They just looked at each other, including the guardians and Council, and they were all hoping that Ash and Kashton were ok in Ash's body and hoping that there was a victor soon before someone was seriously hurt.

_(Back In Ash's Mind)_

"Ok. If you want to play it that way." said Ash as he was getting up from where he was sitting on the floor against the wall.

He ran towards Kashton, who was on the other side of the supposed battlefield in Ash's mind, to punch him, but he was stopped by Kashton, who grabbed Ash's arm and pushed him back down in the same direction, on his back, as before.

When he got back up, he saw Kashton starting to run towards him, ready to punch him again, but Ash was ready for him this time around as he saw Kashton running full force.

Ash got up and started to run to punch Kashton too until, just before they hit each other, who were mere feet away, when, they stopped in their tracks and clutched their chests because both of their hearts stopped at the same time.

They stood like that for 2 minutes until their hearts started back up again; making Ash start to wonder what Kashton did to his body while he was in the Stone Pokeball.

"What was that all about, Kashton?" asked Ash, finally able to move after what felt like an eternity to him.

"The spell's starting to become a problem now." replied Kashton, starting to move again, but he was slightly slower than before.

"What are you talking about, Kashton?" asked Ash, standing in the same place as before as he crossed his arms across his chest as he was waiting for an explanation from Kashton.

"One of my 'old friends' put a spell on me so that my heart would be weak in battle and I would eventually die." replied Kashton as he was looking at Ash.

"So let me get this straight, when your heart stops, my heart stops because you took over my body?" exclaimed Ash as he was getting angrier than before.

"Well, Ash, you just discovered what's happening to us." said Kashton calmly as he was watching Ash's face turn from an angry expression to a shocked expression.

Ash couldn't believe that he hit the nail on the head with that exclamation and how they were both in trouble if it continued on.

_(Back In The Real World)_

Both of the gangs started to notice that the tattoo was slowly going away from Ash's body as they had pulled the turtleneck down on his neck on could see it disappear.

The gang knew that Ash was starting to come through for them by defeating Kashton and hopefully, getting the world back to normal.

_(Back In Ash's Mind)_

"You know what, Kashton? You're going down!" said Ash as he was running towards Kashton again, but this time it was full force.

"Oh yeah, so are you!" said Kashton doing the same, but with a spell in hand, which was a dark blue that meant that he was serious about this fight.

_(Back In The Real World)_

As Ash and Kashton are fighting for control over Ash's body, our heroes are waiting to see who'll be the winner, but will it be Ash or Kashton that comes out on top?

* * *

When we left our young hero, he was facing Kashton for control over his body and the gangs were waiting for the winner to emerge victorious, but will it be Ash or Kashton?

Let's find out!

_(Back In Ash's Mind)_

The two punches hit together, but Kashton pushed Ash's punch back and hit him hard since Ash wasn't planning on Kashton doing that.

The punch sent Ash flying back in the same direction as before, but he slammed against the wall and was badly hurt from the spell being so powerful on him.

_(Back In The Real World)_

While the gangs were watching Ash's body, they noticed that he was starting to show some emotion in his face with a pained expression and the tattoo was gone from his body, but they didn't know if it was Kashton or Ash with that pained expression.

_(Back In Ash's Mind)_

"I was expecting more out of you, Ash, than you're showing me know." said Kashton as he watched Ash get up with his head lowered so that his hat was covering his eyes.

Ash kept his head looking at the ground while he was getting up so that Kashton wouldn't see him release some tears from his eyes.

"You know what, Kashton?" asked Ash, still with his head down and in a slightly cold tone too.

"What, Ash?" asked Kashton as well as he was wondering what Ash had up his sleeve.

"That you're going down once and for all!" yelled Ash as he lifted his head up and was starting to charge at Kashton with his fist clenched so tight that his knuckles were starting to turn white.

"You're going down too!" yelled Kashton as he was starting to charge at Ash as well without a spell in hand.

They were about to make contact with each other, when both of their hearts stopped again, which they clutched their chests, but for 3 minutes instead of 2.

When their hearts started back up, Kashton wasn't moving as fats as before, in fact, he wasn't moving at all as he was still clutching his chest.

"_My heart can't stand another time of stopping because if it does, I will for sure be a goner."_ said Kashton in his mind as he slowly let go of his chest.

While Kashton was saying that in his mind, Ash had recovered faster than Kashton and started running again and punched him, catching him off guard.

Kashton was knocked against the wall hard, with his head looking down at the ground, as he wasn't expecting to have Ash land a punch on him.

When eh looked up, he saw Ash standing over him with his right fist still clenched while he was panting from what he had just accomplished.

"Are you ready to give up, Kashton?" asked Ash as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Yes, Ash. I am." replied Kashton as he was getting up with Ash's help.

"That was a good fight, Kashton." said Ash as he stuck out his hand to shake with Kashton.

"I agree with you on it, Ash." said Kashton as he grabbed Ash's hand gently and shook on a great fight.

There was slight pause before Kashton spoke again, breaking the silence that they both had created.

"Well, I guess I should be leaving your body since you're the winner, Ash." said Kashton as he was starting to leave spiritually from Ash's mind.

"Kashton, wait. Where will you go after you leave my body?" asked Ash as he was stopping Kashton from leaving momentarily.

"I'll go back inside the Stone Pokeball forever, but promise me this, Ash: When I'm back inside it, destroy the Stone Pokeball so that I may rest in peace." said Kashton half gone as he stuck out his hand.

"I will, Kashton. You can count on me." said Ash as he shook Kashton's disappearing hand.

As soon as Ash said that, Kashton disappeared from Ash's body, but his dark aura was still in Ash's body.

It took Ash only 5 seconds to get full control of his body again, which he was happy about after what he had been put through the past day.

_(Back In The Real World)_

The two gangs watched speechless as Kashton's dark spirit, not his aura, left Ash's body and went into the Stone Pokeball, which was lying right next to him, without any resistance.

As soon as Kashton was back in the Stone Pokeball, Ash's eyes flickered little as he was starting to wake up.

"Ash, is that you?" asked May as she wasn't sure if it was Ash or not.

Ash looked at everyone that was around him with amazement on their faces and then, May.

"It's me, for sure." replied Ash as he was slowly getting up as he was a little numb in his arms and legs.

"Let's get out of here, everyone." said Brandon as he was starting to reach for the Stone Pokeball to put it away forever in a spot where no one could find it ever again.

"Hold on, Brandon." said Ash as he was getting the rest of the feeling in his arms and legs as he was stopping Brandon from touching the Stone Pokeball.

"Why, Ash?" asked Dawn as both gangs were wondering what he had up his sleeve.

"Because I have a promise to keep." replied Ash as he stepped away from the Stone Pokeball with everyone following him.

"What are you talking about, Ash?" asked Misty as they were all confused about what he was talking about.

"By this: Sceptile, Solarbeam on the Stone Pokeball!" replied Ash as he was fulfilling his promise to Kashton.

Everyone, including the gang from Pokelantis, were shocked to hear that when Ash said that.

Scpetile's Solarbeam destroyed the Stone Pokeball completely without leaving a trace of it even existing at all.

When the Stone Pokeball was destroyed, all of the darkness in the world was gone, even all of Kashton's dark and evil aura left Ash's body and when it did, Ash fell down onto the ground on his stomach and the aura disappeared from the world too.

Brock went to check on Ash and discovered that something was wrong with Ash after he rolled Ash over to check on him.

"Uh, guys, we have a big problem. Ash isn't breathing and he doesn't have a pulse either." said Brock as he was getting up from Ash's side.

'Then let's get him to a hospital quickly." said Cynthia as she was hoping that Ash would be alright.

"Sceptile, would you mind carrying Ash for us?" asked Max as he knew that Sceptile was worried about its trainer and Sceptile shock its head 'Yes' and picked Ash up without a problem as it had done it before.

"Go Bronzong! Ok, everyone, let's go! Bronzong, Teleport!" said Lucian as they were in a hurry to get to a hospital.

As our heroes are teleporting to a hospital for Ash to get taken care of, the 12 legendary pokemon are starting to go back to their homes with a farewell and a good luck wish from all of them that Ash will be alright, but the question that's on everyone's minds, including the 12 legendaries, is this: Will Ash be able to make it through this part of the ordeal or will he face the inevitable?

* * *

Last time, Ash beat Kashton on the last fight between them and when Ash destroyed the Stone Pokeball, Ash fell to the ground after Kashton's aura left his body and he wasn't breathing and he didn't have a pulse either, which worried everyone there.

Now, our heroes are arriving at the hospital in Viridian for Ash, but will be able to be saved or will he die?

Let's find out!

_(At The Hospital)_

As soon as they arrived, Brandon went running inside to find a doctor or a nurse to help them with taking care of Ash.

He found a doctor just inside of the building and told the doctor to follow him outside because their friend collapsed while he was training.

When the doctor came running out with Brandon and saw Ash in the condition that he was in, the doctor ran in and called for a stretcher to come out immediately.

When the nurse came running out as she was bringing the stretcher out, Brock, Brandon, Lucian, and the doctor (Don't know what to call him!) lifted Ash up onto the stretcher and the nurse took him to the emergency room immediately through a pair of swinging doors. (Is that what they are called?)

Just before the gang rushed after Ash, the doctor stopped them in the waiting room before doing anything else such as running after Ash.

"I'll come out when I have some good news, but if I come out of there after 15 minutes of going in there, then, I have some bad news." said the doctor before he went through the swinging doors to take care of Ash.

As soon as the doctor left, Brock went to call Mrs. Ketchum, Professor Oak, and Tracey to give them the news about Ash and what kind of condition he was in.

While Brock was talking to the three of them and trying to comfort them, May remembered something that was very important that she had to do.

_(The Phone Conversation Between May And Caroline)_

She called her Mom to let her know why they weren't home yet, but she didn't want to tell her that they had to save the world from a rogue spirit that was loose in Ash's body.

"Oh, I see. Well, have fun at the party, May. Bye." said Caroline as she hung up with May.

"Thanks, Mom. Bye." said May as she was doing the same as Max was coming up behind her.

"What was Mom talking about a party for?" asked Max as he heard he very last thing that his Mom said to May.

"I lied to her and told her the reason why we're not home yet is because there's a party for Ash instead of telling her the truth." replied May as she was looking at Max.

"Oh, I see. Good job, sis." said Max complimenting his sister on a great idea.

"Thanks, Max." said May accepting the compliment.

"Hey, Max. Could you come over here for a minute?" asked Brock as he was looking at Max, away from the screen of the video phone in front of him.

"Sure, Brock." replied Max as he left his sister to see what Brock wanted.

When Max got there, he heard a person crying in the background that sounded like a woman, who was probably Mrs. Ketchum worrying about her son.

"Max, would you mind teleporting with Bronzong to pick up Tracey, and the others for me?" asked Brock as he was looking away at the screen and looking at Max.

"I wouldn't mind, Brock. See you in a minute, Tracey." replied Max as he stepped back to hold onto Bronzong and then, he was teleported away to Pallet Town.

"See you in a couple of minutes, Brock. Bye." said Tracey as he was hanging up with Brock.

"Bye, Tracey." said Brock as he was hanging up too.

_(5 Minutes Later)_

Max returned with the others, but Mrs. Ketchum was still crying her eyes out about what happened to her son and how this could've all been avoided.

_(30 Minutes Later)_

After Mrs. Ketchum finally settled down, the doctor came out through the swinging doors with some good news, which was indicated by a smile on his face.

"Well, Ash will be fine, but there are some consequences. Number 1: No training with his pokemon for 2 weeks. Number 2: He has to rest during those 2 weeks and practically do nothing, and Number 3: He can't do any battling at anytime during the next 2 weeks or he will for sure die. You can go ahead on in to see him. He should be waking up any minute now. Do you want me to tell him or do you all want to tell him the news?" asked the doctor as he was looking at the gang.

Everyone looked at each other and then, they made their decision about who should tell Ash this load of information.

"We'll tell him the news. When will he be able to go home?" asked Mrs. Ketchum as she was looking at the doctor and stepping forward slightly.

"He'll be able to go home tomorrow. I'll see you all tomorrow." replied the doctor as he was leaving them at the white swinging doors, which they went through as soon as he left.

_(In Ash's room)_

When the doctor left, the gang went into the room, after finding out where it was, and saw Ash still sleeping peacefully in the white hospital bed, which he was hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV.

As soon as they were in the room and shut the door, Ash started to wake up, which was indicated by his eyes fluttering open to reveal his chocolate brown eyes.

"Ash, I'm so glad that you're alright." said Mrs. Ketchum, who was sitting on Ash's right side by his head, as she was looking at her son.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" asked Ash as he turned his head to look at her with a curious look on his face.

"I'm here because Brock called about what happened and what your condition was at the time that you were in here being taken care of." replied Mrs. Ketchum as she was smiling for the first time since this whole thing started with Kashton.

"What condition?" asked Ash as he was starting to get up to sit up in the bed with as much strength as he could muster from being so exhausted from the fight with Kashton.

"Maybe this one word might help you remember: Kashton." replied Brandon as he was looking at Ash struggle to sit up without any help.

As soon as Ash heard the word 'Kashton', he fell back onto the bed, which scared everyone, but they were relieved to see that he was ok, in shock as he remembered what happen and how he got into the condition that he got when he came into the hospital.

"Oh yeah. HIM. Anyway, how did I get in the hospital?" asked Ash as he was trying to figure out what happened after he had blacked out from destroying the Stone Pokeball.

After finding out that Ash will be ok, our heroes are gonna get a good night's sleep, as best as they can with being in a hospital and all, so that they can take Ash home the next day.

* * *

**That was Chapter 21! I'm happy how I worked on a lot of it. I started to work on it yesterday and today I finished it. Yeah! Next chapter will be the last. :( But I will have the next fanfic up on my birthday as that it when I'm hoping to finish this too. :) See ya later!**

**AshKetchumForever-Action first-Think later!**


	22. Return Of The Fighting Sprirt!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

**

* * *

****Chapter 22: Return Of The Fighting Spirit!**

After a good night's sleep, our heroes are waiting for Ash so that they can help him get home without any problems and safely.

"While Ash was being released, Lucian let Bronzong out, outside of the hospital, so that they can teleport home to Pallet Town.

As soon as everyone was together and everything taken care of at the hospital, Bronzong teleported back to Pallet Town in an instant.

_(In Pallet Town)_

When they arrived in front of Ash's house, Ash, Mrs. Ketchum, Professor Oak, and Tracey let go of Bronzong and walked up to Ash's house, but what happens next will leave Ash feeling very lonely on the inside.

"Hey, Ash, I'm gonna have to leave because I got a message from home at the hospital that said to come home immediately." said Brock with a sad look on his face.

"Yeah, and Mom would be worry about us not being home yet." said May with Max agreeing with her as they thought about the phone call May made to Caroline.

"Yeah, my Mom would be worrying sick about me if I'm not home yet." said Dawn as she was thinking about how worried her Mom must be about her.

"I should be getting back to the gym before my sisters ruin it." said Misty as she was thinking about the past times that they were just handing out badges instead of battling.

"And we have to go back to our other jobs back at the Battle Pyramid and Sinnoh." said Brandon with Cynthia and Lucian agreeing with him as they were thinking about the different challengers waiting to battle them.

Ash didn't take too long to respond to everyone leaving him alone when he had just gone through a lot to get his body back.

"Ok, see you later." said Ash as he was entering his house with a sad look on his face, but behind it was the depression he felt about having Kashton take over his body and having to battle for it back.

"I'm sorry about Ash. He just hasn't been the same since the whole 'Kashton' thing happened to him." said Mrs. Ketchum as she was worried about her son.

When she said that, Brandon finally figured out why Ash was so different from before and that he was depressed about Kashton ruling the world in his body.

"Do you mind if I come back in a little over 2 weeks to check on Ash, Mrs. Ketchum?" asked Brandon, hoping that it would just past through Ash's system and be back to normal when he got there later on.

"Sure, Brandon. If you want to, everyone, you can visit Ash anytime while he's in recovery mode." said Mrs. Ketchum as she was thinking that it would help him recover a lot quicker.

"Thanks, Mrs. Ketchum. We'll see you later. Bye!" said the gang in unison as they were teleporting away to get to their homes.

"Oh, I just remembered that I have to go back to the lab and feed the pokemon before they starve. Come on, Sceptile. Bye." said Tracey as he was leaving with Ash's Sceptile so that it can help him feed the other pokemon.

"Bye, Tracey. I just hope that Ash will be able to pull out of this whole thing." said Mrs. Ketchum, still worried about her son with being depressed.

"Ash will be just fine after 2 weeks. Don't worry." said Professor Oak, trying to cheer her up so that she wouldn't be like her son.

Since Tracey was still in hearing distance of them when Professor Oak said that, Tracey wasn't gonna bet on it that Ash will be able to pull out of this as son as everyone thinks he will.

"Sceptile, I don't think that Ash will pull out of this after 2 weeks. He looks so depressed after what happened to him." said Tracey to Sceptile once they were out of hearing distance of Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak.

Sceptile just looked down and was slightly depressed about what happened to Ash as it was there when Ash was possessed the first time.

_(One Week Later)_

Brock came to check on Ash to find that he hasn't gone out to be with his pokemon since he's been home, which was unusual for Ash since he always went to the lab after a long journey to relax with his pokemon.

When Misty came a day later to check on him, she found Ash, still depressed about Kashton, even though, Brock was trying to cheer him up.

Then, they finally had enough and convinced Ash to go over to the lab and be with his pokemon, which, surprisingly enough, he did.

May and Max came the next day and found Ash lying on the ground with all of his pokemon surrounding him as they were worried about their trainer being ok as Professor Oak's lab.

The next day after May and Max had arrived, Dawn, Cynthia, and Lucian came to check on Ash as well, but found him with his pokemon, still worrying about him, again, only this time, Ash was a little bit more depressed than before as he kept replaying the last couple of days in his head.

_(A Week Later)_

Brandon came to see how Ash was doing after 2 weeks of rest and relaxation, but what happens next, Brandon had already planned for 2 weeks ago.

Brandon arrived at the Ketchum's house in a few minutes after arriving in Pallet Town.

He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer the door and lucky him, he didn't have to wait too long.

Mrs. Ketchum answered the door after a few seconds of hearing the knock on the door.

"Hi, Brandon. How are you?" asked Mrs. Ketchum with a smile on her face as she was trying to hide the worry for Ash.

"I'm fine. I was wondering how Ash was doing." replied Brandon as Mrs. Ketchum smile faded away and was replaced with a look of worry.

"Ash is still depressed as ever about Kashton taking over his body and ruling the world for a short length of time." said Mrs. Ketchum as she was thinking about how he wasn't himself.

"Where is he?" asked Brandon as he was hoping to find Ash soon so that he could set him straight.

"He's over at Professor Oak's lab, lying on the ground with his pokemon around him. His pokemon are really worried about him." replied Mrs. Ketchum as she was looking in the direction of the lab with Brandon following her look.

"Thank you. Bye." said Brandon as he was leaving for Professor Oak's lab.

"Bye. Good luck on getting the Ash that we all know and love back." said Mrs. Ketchum with that last part to herself as she closed the front door.

_(At Professor Oak's Lab)_

When Brandon arrived at the lab, he saw the gang standing a little ways away from Ash and his pokemon, still worried about him.

"Hi, everyone." said Brandon, smiling as he was trying to cheer them up, but it didn't work.

"Hi, Brandon." said the gang in unison with a worried look on their faces.

They all looked at Ash and still couldn't believe that he was still depressed about Kashton and everything that he did while he was in Ash's body.

"Has he been training or battling for a couple of days now?" asked Brandon curiously.

"No. Unfortunately, he's been a little more depressed every day." replied May, looking at Brandon with the same worried look on her face.

As May was saying that last part, Brandon started to walk towards Ash with the plan that he devised a couple of weeks ago ready to be launched.

"Ash, get up." said Brandon, scaring Ash as he visibly jumped and looked up at Brandon.

"Brandon, what are you doing here?" asked Ash as he was getting up off of the ground to stand in front of Brandon.

"I'm here to challenge you to a match." replied Brandon with a stern look on his face as he was getting to the point.

"But I haven't trained or anything in a little over 2 weeks." said Ash as he was thinking about what he was doing during those past 2 weeks.

"It doesn't matter. Pick three of your pokemon that you used to win the Sinnoh League and we can start the battle." said Brandon, getting into his battle position with Ash just staring at him with wide eyes.

As our heroes are shocked by Brandon challenging Ash, the question on everyone's mind is this: Will Ash accept the challenge or will he forfeit?

* * *

Last time, Brandon challenged Ash to a battle using three pokemon that he used to win the Sinnoh League, but the question is: Will Ash accept Brandon's battle challenge?

Let's find out!

"Are you sure about this, Brandon?" asked Brock in shock as he wasn't sure that Ash should be battling now.

"Yes. It's the only way to snap Ash back to normal form his depressed state." replied Brandon as he was looking at the gang out of the corner of his eye.

"Brandon, I accept your challenge." said Ash, starting to perk up a bit as it had sounded like fun.

"Ok. I'll be the referee." said Brock as he was taking his position between Ash and Brandon on the sidelines.

_(On The Battlefield)_

When Ash took his battle position, across from Brandon, the battle was ready to begin.

"This match between Brandon and Ash is about to begin! Trainers ready?" asked Brock as he was looking between Brandon, on his right, and Ash, on his left.

"Yeah!" replied Ash and Brandon in unison as they were giving each other a determined look.

"Then let the match begin!"

"Go Registeel!"

"Go Chimchar!"

"Registeel, Sand Storm!"

"Chimchar, Dig!"

Chimchar dodged the Sand Storm, because it only works above ground, easily with Dig.

"Registeel, Lock-On!"

"Chimchar, Flame Wheel!"

As Chimchar's Flame Wheel hit Registeel hard, Registeel's Lock-On caught Chimchar off guard and got it.

"Registeel, Hyper Beam!"

"Chimchar, Flamethrower!"

The Hyper Beam pushed the Flamethrower back and hit Chimchar hard enough to knock it out,

"Chimchar's unable to battle. Registeel's the winner!"

No one noticed this, but Ash winced a little in pain as Brock was saying that because he remembered the way Kashton battled during the Sinnoh League.

"_I have to shake this feeling off or else!"_ said Ash in his mind as he was starting to get back into the battle.

"Registeel, return. Go Regirock!"

"Go Sceptile!"

"Regirock, Iron Defense!"

"Sceptile, Bullet Seed!"

The Bullet Seed didn't cause any damage to Regirock at all as it hit it.

"Regirock, Lock-On!"

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"

Sceptile got hit first and then, it was Regirock who got hit by the Leaf Blade.

"Regirock, Hyper Beam!"

"Sceptile, Solarbeam!"

The two attacks clashed together in mid-air, but the Solarbeam pushed the Hyper Beam back and hit Regirock hard enough to knock it out.

"Regirock's unable to battle. Sceptile's the winner!"

Ash did the same exact thing as before, but this time he winced a little longer than before, but recovered quickly.

"Go Regice!"

"Go Pikachu!"

"Regice, Ice Beam!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

The two attacks smashed into each other in mid-air, which ended with a small smoke cloud, but it disappeared after a few seconds.

"Regice, Sand Tomb!"

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

The Iron Tail smashed through the Sand Tomb, which surrounded Pikachu, and hit Regice hard, but not hard enough to knock it out.

"Regice, Hyper Beam!"

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

The attacks collided in mid-air and both Regice and Pikachu were hit hard, resulting in a double knock out.

"Regice and Pikachu are unable to battle. It's a draw!" said Brock.

Ash couldn't stand it anymore when his body went numb, from the battle, when Brandon was on his way over to him to congratulate him on a great battle.

"That was a great battle, Ash. Ash?" asked Brandon, smiling about having broken through to the real Ash, as he was worried about Ash, who was lying on the ground on his stomach.

Ash was unconscious, like he was when Kashton took over his body, when they went to check on him and they rolled him over onto his back.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"Well, it looks like the twerp has recovered from the whole incident from before." said James as they were walking away from the battlefield after watching the battle.

"Yeah. But we need to think of a plan to capture Pikachu and the other pokemon before anything else happens to the twerp." said Meowth as it was looking between Jessie and James, who were on either side of him.

"Yeah." said Jessie and James in unison as they followed Meowth back to their balloon, which was parked close by.

_(Back With The Gang)_

After having a battle with Brandon, our heroes are wondering what happened to Ash and why he fell unconscious like before.

* * *

After battling with Brandon, our heroes are trying to wake Ash up after he fell unconscious from the battle.

"Ash, wake up!" said Misty as she was really starting to worry about him along with the others.

"I know! Go Piplup! Piplup, Bubblebeam!" said Dawn as she was releasing Piplup from its pokeball.

The Bubblebeam woke Ash up as quickly as Ash had fallen unconscious on the ground.

Ash opened his eyes to see everyone standing around him and found himself on the ground for some reason and then, he remembered what happened.

"What happened to you, Ash?" asked May as they were all looking at him with a worried look on their faces.

"Well, when Brandon was walking over to me, my body felt numb and when Brandon stopped in front of me to congratulate me on a great battle, my brain did the only sensible thing and shutdown, and I blacked out until Piplup woke me up." explained Ash as he was looking at the gang.

"Maybe you should tell your Mom about this happening to you, Ash." said Brandon, thinking that Mrs. Ketchum could help her son in a heartbeat.

"No way, Brandon! Mom hasn't even gotten over what happened in my depressed state." said Ash as he was afraid of what his Mom would do to him and as he was starting to get up.

When Ash was starting to get up, he clutched his stomach with both arms and sat back on the ground in pain.

"That's it, Ash. You're going home." said Brandon as he was helping Ash, who was still clutching his stomach with his right arm, up.

"Ok, but could I get some help getting home?" asked Ash with Brandon still holding onto him by his left arm.

"Are you sure that you can walk home?" asked Cynthia as she watched Brock go over to Ash and Brandon.

"I'm sure. Thanks for asking, Cynthia." replied Ash as Brock, who grabbed onto his right arm, came over to help him home along with Brandon.

As the gang was helping Ash home, Tracey was starting to wonder what was going on and what happened but he just went back to working and tending to the pokemon.

_(At Ash's House)_

As they entered Ash's house, Mrs. Ketchum came and saw Ash being held up by Brandon and Brock on either side.

"What happened to you, Ash?" asked Mrs. Ketchum as she helped Ash, who was now clutching his stomach with both arms, to the couch.

"Well, Brandon challenged me to a battle to snap me back to normal and when it ended in a draw and Brandon walked over toward me to congratulate me on a great battle, I felt me body go numb and I fell unconscious for sometime before Piplup woke me up by using its Bubblebeam. Just as I was starting to get up off of the ground, I felt a pain in my stomach and I fell back on the ground before Brandon and Brock helped me home." explained Ash as he was about to double over on the couch because the pain increased every time he spoke.

"Let me take a look at you, Ash. Could all of you step out of the room for a couple of minutes while I take a look at Ash?" asked Mrs. Ketchum as she was looking at everyone and they all left the room for her to find out what was wrong with Ash.

While Mrs. Ketchum checks Ash out, the gang awaits impatiently to see what she says about Ash and if he will be ok. (He better! Oh wait, I know because I'm the author, but I'm not telling you yet!)

After a couple of minutes, Mrs. Ketchum came out and told the gang what she thought might of happened to Ash.

"What I think that happened to Ash is that he needed to rest another couple of days before he started to battle with an opponent, but he can start to train his pokemon again. I also gave a couple of aspirin for the pain." said Mrs. Ketchum happily as she was happy to have her son back.

_(With Ash)_

He was relieved to hear that he could train with his pokemon again after 2 weeks of doing nothing, but being depressed and everything else that happened to him.

He leaned back onto the arm of the couch to lay down for a little while and closed his eyes for a little bit, because the aspirin made him sleepy too, until, Pikachu jumped onto his lap as it was happy too that its trainer was going to be fine.

Ash was surprised when Pikachu jumped up onto him, which he jumped a little, but he let Pikachu lay on his stomach and he was starting to doze off on the couch with Pikachu on his stomach like usual.

_(Back With The Others)_

After finding out what happened to Ash and that he will be alright, our heroes are relieved to hear that Ash will be able to train again after a too long of a break.

* * *

After finding out that Ash will be alright, our heroes are ready to help Ash with his training for the next competition that he enters in.

_(The Next Day)_

The gang let out all of their pokemon so that they could train by themselves and with Ash at the same time.

Even some of Ash's pokemon, who stay with Professor Oak, started to train with the gang, including Ash, in case they are needed for later on down the road.

While the gang was training, they didn't realize that Team Rocket was watching them closely from behind a nearby bush.

_(With Team Rocket)_

"Well, it looks like the twerp is back up and on his feet again." said Meowth sadly.

"Yeah, and that's bad for us if we want to snatch Pikachu for the boss." said James sadly too.

"Stop saying that, James! All we need is a mecha machine, a plan, and a get away vehicle and we're good to go!" said Jessie as she was cheering up James and Meowth in a whisper.

"Yeah, you're right, Jessie. I can get mecha machine." said Meowth perking up.

"Yeah, and I can get the get away vehicle." said James happily.

"Yeah, and I'll think of a plan." said Jessie excitedly.

"Then we'll get Pikachu followed by a big promotion from the boss for all of our hard work." said Team Rocket in unison as they were leaving.

_(Back With The Gang)_

Ash thought that he heard something in the bushes when he got hit by Vine Whip attacks from Bulbasaur and Bayleef that made him hit the ground somewhat hard on his butt.

They came running over to make sure that he was alright and he was.

"I'm fine, Bulbasaur and Bayleef. I wasn't looking when you hit me so it's my fault since I look out more often for attacks from any angle or side." said Ash, gently rubbing Bulbasaur and Bayleef on the head.

The gang didn't see this happen because he got up so quickly since he was feeling much better from what he was feeling like yesterday.

After training with each other and Team Rocket planning something evil, our heroes are in for a giant surprise tomorrow.

* * *

After training with each other and Ash the day before, our heroes are gonna get a giant surprise from an annoying team that they all know and despise so much.

The gang was having fun training with Ash and his pokemon when all of a sudden, Team Rocket shows up in a mecha Snorlax, four times the height of a normal Snorlax, and snatches up all of the pokemon.

"Thanks for all of the pokemon, twerps and twerpettes!" said Team Rocket in unison as they were thinking that they were finally victorious.

"Give us our pokemon back, Team Rocket!" said the gang in unison.

"Sorry. We can't do that because we've got a giant promotion waiting for us from the boss. See ya!" said Team Rocket as they were turning around and leaving.

As Team Rocket was leaving, Ash couldn't just stand there and do nothing when they were getting away with their pokemon, but he had to do something and fast.

Ash thought of a plan to get the pokemon back before the rest of the gang did and that was a shocker for him.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" said Ash, putting his plan into action.

The Iron Tail cut through the net with ease and all of the pokemon fell out of it and landed safely in either their trainer's arms or on the ground.

"I thought that the net was insulated, Meowth!" yelled Jessie as the top of her lungs.

"Well, we didn't have enough money after we got the mecha Snorlax and the get away vehicle or it." said Meowth, afraid of what Jessie was going to do to it.

"Team Rocket, when you mess with the pokemon, you mess with me! Ok, Pikachu, Thunderbolt, Turtwig, Energy Ball, Chimchar, Flamethrower, Buizel, Water Pulse, Staravia, Brave Bird, and Sceptile, Solarbeam altogether!" said Ash as he wanted to take care of Team Rocket that very minute.

The attacks sent Team Rocket flying high into the sky, saying the usual: "Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

When Ash turned around to see that the gang was happy about having their pokemon back with them, all he saw was shocked expressions on his friends as they were looking at him.

"What's wrong, guys?" asked Ash, curious to see what they were shocked about.

The only reply that Ash got from the gang was a hug as they were happy about having the old Ash back.

"Ash! You're back!" yelled the gang as they hugged him and he didn't have to ask what they meant because he knew right away what they were talking about.

Just as they finished saying that, Ash noticed his Mom was standing by the group of pokemon with a big smile on her face.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" asked Ash, breaking up the hug, which the others didn't mind at all.

"I saw and explosion and wondered what happened." replied Mrs. Ketchum as she was still smiling at her son.

"Oh, that. It was just Team Rocket, but I took care of them." said Ash with the gang agreeing with him about him alone taking care of Team Rocket.

"Wow, that sounds like it was tough." said Mrs. Ketchum, happy about having her son back to normal.

After a few minutes of thinking something over in his mind, Ash decided to announce what he had been thinking about in his head over the past five minutes.

"Everyone, I have an announcement. I'm planning on starting a new journey today." said Ash proudly.

"I thought that you might say that, Ash." said Mrs. Ketchum, handing Ash his backpack, which she had just packed not too long ago.

"Thanks, Mom. Brock, Dawn, would you mind coming with me?" asked Ash, outing his backpack on.

"Sure, Ash." replied Brock and Dawn in unison as they picked up their backpacks from a nearby tree along with the others.

"Bye, everyone!" said the gang, including Mrs. Ketchum, Professor Oak, and Tracey, who had just joined them not too long ago, in unison.

As Ash, Brock, Dawn, and Pikachu are starting a new journey together, Misty, May, Max, Brandon, Cynthia, and Lucian head back to Cerulean City, Petalburg City, which is in Hoenn, the Battle Pyramid, and Sinnoh to continue being a gym leader, a coordinator and a traveling partner, a Frontier Brain, a Sinnoh League Champion, and a Sinnoh Elite Four.

* * *

**Well, that's all she wrote. That's the end of my first fanfic and it's on my birthday too! Hoping to get the next story out later on today. Thanks to all of the readers out there for reading this and making it a favorite story. See ya later!**

**AshKetchumForever-Action first-Think later!**


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